Guideway group

Abstract

Guideway group (22, 24), which includes: a first rail (26); a second rail (28) supported by the first rail (26) for relative movement in a forward direction (18) and a reverse direction (20); a locking arrangement (30) mounted on the second rail (28) and operable to be placed in a locked state to resist relative movement of the first rail (26) and the second rail (28) to one another; a memory assembly (38) mounted on the second rail (28) and engageable to establish a user-selected position, the memory assembly (38) comprising a memory wheel (72) having teeth (75); and an activation lever (42) as a first actuating element, which can be placed in an engaged state, whereby the locking arrangement (30) is released from the locked state and the memory arrangement (38) is placed in the engaged state, wherein, when the memory assembly (38) is in the engaged state and at the position selected by the user, the memory assembly (38) resists movement of the second rail (28) relative to the first rail (26) in the rearward direction (20), characterized in that, when the memory arrangement (38) is in the engaged state and at the position selected by the user, the teeth (75) engage a guide track (76) of the first rail (26) so that when the second rail (28) moves relative to the first rail (26) in the forward direction (18), the memory arrangement (38) is displaced relative to the second rail (28) in the reverse direction (20) to a first position.

Description

Background of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates generally to guide track assemblies for seats and, in particular, to vehicle seats whose positions can be adjusted forwards and backwards.

[0002] Vehicles, such as cars, contain seats for the driver and passengers. These may include individual seats or bench seats. The driver and passenger seats are usually adjustable, including the ability to slide them forward and backward within a range of positions. This allows the driver, for example, to select a seat position that is most comfortable while driving the vehicle.

[0003] Some vehicles allow a seat to be moved to access the space behind the seat. This is common in two-door cars, where one door provides access to both the front row of seats and one rear row. The front seat can be "folded," meaning the seat is moved to its forwardmost position to provide easy access to the rear seats. The front seat is then moved back to a use position when access to the rear seats is no longer required.

[0004] Some adjustable seats incorporate a memory system that allows the seat to automatically lock into place when the seat is moved to a position previously selected by an occupant after the seat has been folded. This eliminates the need for the occupant to manually adjust the seat position each time the seat is folded.

[0005] For example, from DE 11 2009 003 589 T5 and DE 10 2011 002 656 A1, vehicle seats according to the preamble of claim 1 are known. To enable forward or rearward displacement of the seat, the vehicle seat is fastened to an upper rail, which is supported by a lower rail attached to the vehicle for longitudinal displacement in a forward-backward direction. A locking device is provided in each case with which the relative position of the lower and upper rails to one another in the forward-backward direction can be selectively locked and released. Furthermore, a memory arrangement is attached to the upper rail, which can be engaged with the lower rail to set a position selected by a user. If the memory arrangement is in the engaged state, movement of the upper rail backward beyond the position selected by the user is prevented.The memory assembly is pivotally mounted on the upper rail about an axis that is fixed relative to the upper rail. Relative displacement between the memory assembly and the upper rail in a forward-backward direction is therefore not possible.

[0006] WO 2012 / 071659 A1 discloses a seat rail assembly for a vehicle with a locking mechanism and a memory mechanism. The locking mechanism selectively prevents sliding movement of a movable rail relative to a fixed rail. The memory mechanism can be moved into a memory position, in which the memory mechanism is coupled to the fixed rail and defines a preselected position.

[0007] It is an object of the invention to provide a guideway group having an improved memory function for returning a seat to a position selected by a user. Summary of the invention

[0008] This object is achieved by the subject matter of claim 1 and the subject matter of claim 8, respectively. The dependent claims specify advantageous embodiments of the invention. The present invention relates to a guideway group including a first rail and a second rail supported by the first rail for relative movement in a forward direction and a reverse direction. A locking assembly is attached to the first rail or the second rail and can be placed in a locked state in which it prevents relative movement of the first rail and the second rail to each other.

[0009] resists. A memory assembly is attached to the first rail and is engageable to set a user-selected position. An activation bracket is engageable to release the locking assembly from the locked state and also to engage the memory assembly. When the memory assembly is in the engaged state and in the user-selected position, and the first rail moves in the forward direction relative to the second rail, the memory assembly is displaced relative to the first rail to a first position in the rearward direction.

[0010] The present invention further relates to a guide track assembly including a first rail stationary relative to a frame and a second rail supported by the first rail for movement relative to the first rail in a forward direction and a reverse direction. A locking assembly is attached to one of the first rail and the second rail and is operable to a locked state resisting relative movement of the first rail and the second rail. A memory assembly is operable to an engaged state to set a user-selected position. The memory assembly includes a memory dial attached to one of the first rail and the second rail, and a guide track attached to the other of the second rail and the first rail.The memory wheel includes teeth that engage openings formed by the guideway when the memory assembly is in the engaged state. When the memory assembly is in the engaged state and in the user-selected position, the memory assembly resists movement of the first rail relative to the second rail in the reverse direction. And when the memory assembly is in the engaged state and in the user-selected position, and the first rail moves relative to the second rail a predetermined distance in the forward direction, the memory assembly is translated relative to the first rail the predetermined distance in the reverse direction to a first position.

[0011] Various aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Short description of the drawings Fig. 1 is a rear perspective view of a single seat suitable for use in a passenger car. Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of a guideway assembly used to attach the Fig. 1 shown seat is installed on the vehicle. Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a locking assembly and a memory assembly on the guideway assembly in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the locking assembly and the memory assembly taken along line 4-4 in Fig. 3, which shows the locking arrangement and the memory arrangement in a non-actuated position. Fig. 5 is a sectional view corresponding to the Fig. 4 and shows the locking arrangement and memory arrangement in a first actuated position. Fig. 6 is a sectional view corresponding to the Fig. 4 and shows the locking arrangement and memory arrangement in a locked position. Fig. 7 is a sectional view corresponding to the Fig. 4 and shows the locking arrangement and the memory arrangement in a second actuated position. Fig. 8 is a side view of the memory arrangement in Fig. 4 Fig. 9 is a side view corresponding to the Fig. 8, with some parts of the memory array removed. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a memory wheel of the memory assembly in Fig. 4. Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

[0012] In the drawings, Fig. 1, a single vehicle seat is shown, generally designated 10. The vehicle seat 10 is suitable for use in a passenger car or other vehicle. The vehicle seat 10 includes a seat bottom portion 12 and a back portion 14. The seat bottom portion 12 and the back portion 14 are padded to comfortably accommodate a occupant of the vehicle seat 10. The back portion 14 can be pivoted relative to the seat bottom portion 12 about an axis 15. The back portion 14 can be pivoted to allow a occupant of the vehicle seat 10 to adjust to a comfortable angle. Such vehicle seats are known in the art. It should be understood that the seat installed in a vehicle is for illustrative purposes only, and the seat can be installed in environments other than vehicles if desired.

[0013] Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a guide track assembly, generally indicated at 16. The guide track assembly 16 is attached to the vehicle seat 10 and to a floor of a vehicle (not shown) for installing the vehicle seat 10 in the vehicle. The guide track assembly allows the position of the vehicle seat 10 to be adjusted in a forward direction indicated by arrow 18 and in a rearward direction indicated by arrow 20. It should be understood that the terms "forward" and "rearward" refer to the directions within the vehicle and are intended for non-limiting descriptive purposes only. The vehicle seat 10 can, if desired, be oriented to be adjusted in different directions relative to the vehicle.

[0014] The guide track assembly 16 includes a first guide track group, generally designated 24, and a second guide track group, generally designated 22. The first guide track group 24 and the second guide track group 22 include many of the same structures, and only the first guide track group 24 will be described in detail. The first guide track group 24 includes a first rail, or lower rail, 26 attached to the floor of the vehicle and a second rail, or upper rail, 28 attached to the seating bottom portion 12 of the vehicle seat 10. The upper rail 28 is supported by the lower rail 26 for relative movement in the fore and aft directions. The construction and function of suitable guide track groups are known in the art and will not be described in detail.

[0015] Fig. 4 shows a sectional view of the first guideway group 24 along the line 4-4 in Fig. 3. The first guide track group 24 includes a guide track locking assembly, schematically indicated at 30, a memory assembly, generally indicated at 38, and an actuator assembly, generally indicated at 29. The guide track locking assembly 30 serves to selectively prevent movement of the upper rail 28 and the lower rail 26 relative to one another. The memory assembly 38 serves to prevent the vehicle seat 10 from being moved in the rearward direction 20 beyond a position selected by a user. The actuator assembly 29 serves to selectively activate the guide track locking assembly 30 and the memory assembly 38.

[0016] The guide rail locking assembly 30 is attached to the upper rail 28 and is engageable in a locked state, resisting relative movement of the upper rail 28 and the lower rail 26. The construction and function of the guide rail locking assembly 30 are well known in the art and will not be described in detail. In its normal state, the guide rail locking assembly 30 is urged into its locked state to prevent relative movement of the upper rail 28 and the lower rail 26.

[0017] The guideway locking assembly 30 is operatively connected to a so-called towel bar 32, which allows the guideway locking assembly 30 to be released from the locked state, thus allowing the position of the vehicle seat 10 to be adjusted in the forward and rearward directions. The towel bar 32 is, as shown in Fig. 1, extends from the front of the vehicle seat 10 within reach of the occupant of the vehicle seat 10. This allows the occupant to use the towel bar 32 to disengage the track locking assembly 30 and adjust the position of the vehicle seat 10 to a user-selected position.

[0018] The vehicle seat 10 can be "folded" to provide access to a space behind the vehicle seat 10. This is advantageous, for example, in a two-door vehicle when a passenger wishes to access the second row of seats. When the vehicle seat 10 is folded, the backrest portion 14 is pivoted about the axis 15 to a lowered position closer to the seat bottom portion 12. Simultaneously, the guide track locking assembly 30 is released from the locked state, allowing the upper rail 28 to be moved to a forward position relative to the lower rail 26 in the forward direction 18. This provides more space behind the vehicle seat 10. The vehicle seat 10 can be folded by operating a release handle 34. The vehicle seat 10 can have more than one release handle 34 positioned to be operated by a passenger behind the vehicle seat 10 or outside the vehicle.

[0019] When the vehicle seat 10 is no longer to be folded down, the backrest section 14 can be moved around the axis 15 back to a position of use (as shown in Fig. 1), and the vehicle seat 10 can be moved in the rearward direction 20. The memory assembly 38 resists movement of the upper rail 28 relative to the lower rail in the rearward direction 20 beyond the user-selected position. Thus, after being folded, the vehicle seat 10 can be freely moved in either the forward direction 18 or the rearward direction 20 until it reaches the user-selected position, at which point the memory assembly 38 prevents further movement in the rearward direction 20. Furthermore, when the vehicle seat 10 is in the user-selected position and the back portion 14 is in the deployed position, the track locking assembly 30 is engaged, locking the vehicle seat 10.Therefore, the person sitting on the vehicle seat 10 does not have to manually return the vehicle seat 10 to the position selected by a user after the vehicle seat 10 has been folded down. The function of the first guide track group 24 is described in more detail below.

[0020] The first guideway group 24 is in Fig. 4 in the state in which the vehicle seat 10 is in the position selected by a user. The guide track locking assembly 30 is engaged and prevents relative movement of the lower rail 26 and the upper rail 28. Furthermore, the memory assembly 38 is in a released state. In this position, the vehicle seat 10 cannot move in either the forward direction 18 or the rearward direction 20.

[0021] Fig. 5 is a sectional view corresponding to the Fig. 4 and represents the first guide track group 24 in the state in which the backrest section 14 of the seat 10 (in Fig. 1) has been moved to the lowered position. The first guideway group 24 is, as best shown in Fig. 3, is connected to the backrest section 14 via a Bowden cable 40. When the backrest section 14 is moved to the lowered position, the Bowden cable 40 pulls on the first activation lever 42, causing it to pivot about a lever axis 44 into an engaged state. The first activation lever 42 is an actuating element that is arranged between a Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 and the dissolved state shown in Fig. 5 shown engaged state. The first activation lever 42 is biased into the released state by a torsion spring (not shown) arranged on a connecting tube 46. The first activation lever 42 is attached to a first end of the connecting tube 46, and the connecting tube 46 is connected at a second end to a second activation lever 48 on the second guide track group 22 (in Fig. 2). Thus, the connecting tube 46 allows the first activation lever 42 and the second activation lever 48 to be pivoted together between the engaged state and the released state.

[0022] As again with reference to Fig. 5, the first activation lever 42, when moved into the engaged state, engages a button 50 to release the guide rail locking assembly 30 from the locked state, and further engages a first carriage 52 and moves the first carriage 52 against the force of a first carriage spring 54 in the forward direction 18. The first carriage 52 can move between a Fig. 4 shown first position and one in Fig. 5. The first carriage 52 is biased to the first position by the first carriage spring 54. The first carriage spring 54 shown is a tension coil spring, but if desired, other elements may be used that generate a force sufficient to bias the first carriage 52 to the first position.

[0023] The first carriage 52 includes a carriage lock 56 that engages a towel bar lock 58 when the first carriage 52 is moved to the second position. The towel bar lock 58 is moved to a locking position (as shown in Fig. 5, upwards). The carriage lock 56 pushes the towel bar lock 58 against the force of the towel bar spring from the locking position (in Fig. 5, downwards) when the first carriage 52 moves to the second position. When the first carriage 52 is in the second position, the towel bar lock 58 moves to the locking position. The carriage lock 56 and the towel bar lock 58 then engage to prevent movement of the first carriage 52 from the second position (in Fig. 5) in the reverse direction 20 to the first position (in Fig. 4) against the force of the first carriage spring 54.

[0024] The first carriage 52 further includes a memory activation surface 60 that engages a memory switch 62 located on the memory assembly 38. When the first carriage 52 moves to the second position, the memory activation surface 60 exerts a force on the memory switch 62. The memory assembly 38 is attached to the upper rail 28 via a pivot bearing 64 that receives a pin 66. The memory assembly 38 has an elongated slot 68 through which the pin 66 passes. The memory assembly 38 can move between a released state (in Fig. 4) and an engagement state (in Fig. 5) about the pin 66. The memory assembly 38 is biased to the released state by a memory spring 70 attached to the upper rail 28. The illustrated memory spring 70 is a preloaded leaf spring, however, other elements may be employed that produce a force sufficient to bias the memory assembly 38 to the released state. The force exerted on the memory switch 62 by the memory activation surface 60 is sufficient to overcome the biasing force of the memory spring 70 and cause the memory assembly 38 to rotate about the pin 66 to the engaged state. The memory assembly 38 includes a wheel 72 having a ratchet 74. When the memory assembly 38 is in the engaged state, the ratchet 74 engages a guide track 76 attached to the lower rail 26.

[0025] Fig. 5 illustrates the first guide track group 24 in the state in which the backrest section 14 has been moved to the lowered position. The guide track locking assembly 30 is released from the locked state, allowing the upper rail 28 to move relative to the lower rail 26. The first carriage 52 is in the second position, and the carriage lock 56 is engaged with the towel bar lock 58, maintaining the first carriage 52 in the second position. The memory assembly 38 is maintained in the engaged state by the first carriage 52.

[0026] In Fig. 6, the first guide track group 24 is shown in the state after the vehicle seat 10 has been moved a first distance in the forward direction 18. The first distance corresponds to a length 77 of the elongated slot 68 available for longitudinal movement of the pin 66. When the vehicle seat 10 is moved in the forward direction 18, the upper rail 28 moves relative to the lower rail 26 in the forward direction 18. Most of the components of the first guide track group 24 are attached to the upper rail 28 and therefore also move with the upper rail 28 in the forward direction 18. However, the memory assembly 38 initially remains stationary relative to the lower rail 26.

[0027] The first guideway group 24 includes a second carriage 78 as an actuator lock, which is biased into contact with the memory assembly 38 by a second carriage spring 80. The second carriage spring 80 also exerts a force in the reverse direction 20 on the memory assembly 38. The memory assembly 38 includes, as with further reference to Fig. 4, a hook 82 which engages with a pawl 84 on the upper rail 28 and prevents the memory assembly 38 from being moved in the reverse direction 20 by the second carriage spring 80. The locking tooth 74 of the memory wheel 72 is, as described with reference to Fig. 5, is brought into contact with the guide track 76, and the memory wheel 72 cannot, as described below, rotate clockwise (in Fig. 5). Therefore, the memory assembly 38 is not moved in the reverse direction 20 by the second carriage spring 80. When the memory assembly 38 moves from the Fig. 4 shown position to the one in Fig. 5, the locking tooth 74 engages with the guide track 76 before the hook 82 releases from the pawl 84 to resist the tensioning force of the second carriage spring 80.

[0028] When the upper rail 28 moves relative to the lower rail 26 in the forward direction 18, as with further reference to Fig. 6, the memory assembly 38 is initially stationary relative to the lower rail 26 and the guide track 76. This is due to the locking tooth 74 remaining engaged with the guide track 76 while the pin 66 moves in the elongated slot 68 and the pivot bearing 64 moves relative to the memory assembly 38 by the first distance 77 in the forward direction 18. When the vehicle seat 10 has been moved by the first distance 77 in the forward direction 18, the pin 66 engages the opposite end of the elongated slot 68, and the first guide track group 24 is in the Fig. 6. Furthermore, in addition to the pivot bearing 64 having moved relative to the memory assembly 38 by the first distance 77 in the forward direction 18, the upper rail 28 and the first activation lever 42 have also moved relative to the second carriage 78 by the first distance 77 in the forward direction 18.

[0029] The second carriage 78 includes a lever lock 86 that engages a portion of the first activation lever 42 when the first guideway group 24 is in the Fig. 6. When the second carriage 78 is engaged with the first activation lever 42, the first activation lever 42 is prevented from pivoting about the lever axis 44 and out of the engaged state. As a result, even if the backrest portion 14 of the vehicle seat 10 were pivoted to the deployed position (thereby canceling the force exerted on the first activation lever 42 by the Bowden cable 40), the first activation lever 42 would remain in the engaged state and the guide track locking assembly 30 would remain in the unlocked state. Therefore, the second carriage 78 is an actuator lock that is placed in a locked state when the memory assembly 38 is displaced to the first position, and in the locked state, the second carriage 78 resists disengagement of the first activation lever 42 from the engaged state.

[0030] In the following, the function of the memory arrangement 38 is explained with reference to Fig. 8. The pivot bearing 64 is, as already described, attached to the upper rail 28, and the memory assembly 38 can be rotated relative to the pivot bearing 64 about the pin 66. The memory spring 70 biases the memory assembly 38 to the released position (in Fig. 4). The first carriage 52 exerts a force on the memory switch 62 to move the memory assembly 38 to the insertion position (in Fig. 5) and adjust the position selected by a user. The memory assembly 38 includes a memory housing 88. The memory switch 62 is connected to the memory housing 88, and the memory housing 88 includes the hook 82. The memory wheel 72 is rotatably mounted relative to the memory housing 88. A wheel cover 90 is disposed coaxially with the memory wheel 72 on one side of the memory wheel 72. The wheel cover 90 is attached to the memory housing 88, and the memory wheel 72 can rotate relative to the wheel cover 90.

[0031] Fig. 9 shows a view of the memory arrangement 38 corresponding to the Fig. 8, with the memory housing 88 and the wheel cover 90 removed. The memory wheel 72 has a wheel interior 92 that receives a preloaded coil spring 94. A first end of the coil spring 94 is attached to the wheel cover 90, and a second end of the coil spring 94 is attached to the memory wheel 72. In Fig. 10 shows a rear side of the memory wheel 72. The memory wheel 72 includes an axial threaded spindle 100. An outer end 102 of the threaded spindle 100 is mounted on the memory housing 88 for rotation relative to the memory housing 88. The memory wheel 72 further includes a memory wheel stop 104.

[0032] A memory nut 106 is attached to the lead screw 100 at a first end 108 via a threaded opening (not shown) containing threads corresponding to those on the lead screw 100. This allows the memory nut 106 to rotate relative to the lead screw 100 and the memory wheel 72. The memory nut 106 further includes a portion of the elongated slot 68 at a second end 110 and engages the stud 66. Because the first end 108 of the memory nut 106 engages the lead screw 100 and the second end 110 of the memory nut 106 engages the stud 66, the memory nut 106 cannot rotate relative to the memory housing 88. As a result, when the memory wheel 72 rotates relative to the memory housing 88, the memory nut 106 moves along the threaded spindle 100 in an axial direction 112 (in Fig. 9, into the page). It should be understood that a complete rotation of the memory wheel 72 causes the memory nut 106 to move a distance in the axial direction 112 that corresponds to the distance between the threads on the lead screw 100.

[0033] The memory nut 106 includes a wheel stop (not shown) of the nut that engages the stop 104 of the memory wheel when the memory nut 106 is in its closest position to the memory wheel 72. When the wheel stop of the nut engages the stop 104 of the memory wheel, the memory nut 106 can no longer move closer to the memory wheel 72. The memory wheel 72 can then no longer rotate in the direction that would cause the memory nut 106 to move closer to the memory wheel 72. The memory assembly 38 is configured such that the wheel stop of the nut engages the stop 104 of the memory wheel when the memory assembly 38 is engaged at the user-selected position (as shown in Fig. 5 shown).

[0034] In Fig. 6, the first guide track group 24 is shown in the state in which the vehicle seat 10 has been moved a first distance 77 in the forward direction 18. When the vehicle seat 10 is moved further in the forward direction 18, the engagement of the locking tooth 74 with the guide track 76 causes the memory wheel 72 to rotate relative to the memory housing 88 (in Fig. 6, counterclockwise). The memory wheel 72 includes a plurality of teeth 75 that engage the guide track 76 so that the memory wheel 72 continues to rotate when the vehicle seat 10 is moved in the forward direction 18. The teeth 75 may be configured identically to the ratchet tooth 74, or the teeth 75 may be smaller or made of lighter material, if desired.

[0035] The memory nut 106 is, as already described, in its position closest to the memory wheel 72 when the memory arrangement 38, as in Fig. 5, is engaged at the position selected by a user. This is also the position at which the wheel stop of the nut engages the stop 104 of the memory wheel. It should be understood that the memory nut 106 and the memory wheel 72 are in the Fig. 6, since the memory wheel 72 has not rotated relative to the memory housing 88. When the vehicle seat 10 is in the position shown in Fig. 6 and is then moved further in the forward direction 18, the memory wheel 72 rotates, and the memory nut 106 moves away from the memory wheel 72 in the axial direction 112. The threads of the lead screw 100 have a sufficient pitch so that a complete rotation of the memory wheel 72 allows the wheel stop of the nut to disengage from the stop 104 of the memory wheel and does not interrupt rotation of the memory wheel 72.

[0036] In this state, the vehicle seat 10 can be moved freely in the forward direction 18 or the rearward direction 20. When the seat 10 is moved, the upper rail 28 is moved relative to the lower rail 26. It should be understood that when the upper rail 28 is moved in the forward direction 18, the memory wheel 72, in Fig. 6, rotates counterclockwise and thereby moves the memory nut 106 away from the memory wheel 72. Conversely, when the upper rail 28 is moved in the reverse direction 20, the memory wheel 72 rotates in Fig. 6, clockwise, and thereby the memory nut 106 moves closer to the memory wheel 72.

[0037] When the vehicle seat 10 is moved to the position corresponding to the first distance 77 to the position selected by a user, the first guide track group 24 is again in the position shown in Fig. 6, the memory nut 106 is in its position closest to the memory wheel 72, and the memory wheel 72 can no longer rotate clockwise. The vehicle seat 10 can still be moved the first distance 77 in the rearward direction 20, but the memory wheel 72 does not rotate. Thus, when the upper rail 28 is moved relative to the lower rail 26 in the rearward direction 20, the pin 66 moves in the elongated slot 68. As a result, the memory assembly 38 and the second carriage 78 move longitudinally relative to the upper rail 28 in the forward direction 18 to the position shown in Fig. 5. The vehicle seat 10 is now returned to the position selected by a user. At this point, the memory assembly 38 prevents further movement of the upper rail 28 relative to the lower rail 26 in the rearward direction 20 and, accordingly, prevents movement of the vehicle seat 10 in the rearward direction 20. A force applied to move the upper rail 28 in the rearward direction 20 is resisted by the engagement of the pin 66 with the elongated slot 68 and the engagement of the ratchet 74 with the guide track 76.

[0038] Furthermore, the movement of the second carriage 78 in the forward direction 18, as described above, moves the second carriage 78. As the second carriage 78 engages the memory switch 62, the second carriage 78 is moved longitudinally in the forward direction 18 against the force of the second carriage spring 80. This movement releases the second carriage 78 from the locked state, and the second carriage 78 no longer resists the release of the first activation lever 42 from the engaged state. That is, the lever lock 86 is no longer engaged with a portion of the first activation lever 42. Therefore, when the backrest portion 14 is raised to the deployed position (thereby removing the force exerted by the Bowden cable 40 on the first activation lever 42), the first activation lever 42 is pivoted about the lever axis 44 into the released state.This releases the knob 50 and places the track locking assembly 30 in the locked state, resisting relative movement of the upper rail 28 and the lower rail 26. The vehicle seat 10 is then locked in the position selected by a user.

[0039] It is possible that, after the seat has been folded, the backrest section 14 is set up in the deployment position before the vehicle seat 10 has been moved to the position selected by a user. The second slide 78 prevents, as already described with reference to Fig. 6, releasing the first activation lever 42 and thereby preventing actuation of the guide track locking assembly 30. When the vehicle seat 10 is moved back to the user-selected position, the second carriage 78 releases the first activation lever 42, and the guide track locking assembly 30 operates as previously described. It should be understood that the memory assembly 38 prevents movement of the vehicle seat 10 beyond the user-selected position in the rearward direction 20 regardless of the state of the guide track locking assembly 30. This is advantageous because a delay may occur between the release of the first activation lever 42 and the actuation of the guide track locking assembly 30.If the guideway locking assembly 30 depended only on stop movement of the vehicle seat 10, it would be possible for the vehicle seat 10 to be moved beyond the position selected by a user when moved quickly.

[0040] In Fig. 7, the first guide track group 24 is shown in the state in which the vehicle seat 10 is in the position selected by a user and the backrest section 14 has been set up in the deployment position. The first guide track group 24 is, as shown, in a similar state to that shown in Fig. 6, although the memory assembly 38 is still in the engaged state. Since the carriage lock 56 is engaged with the towel bar lock 58, the first carriage 52 is held in the second position. The first carriage 52 remains in the second position until the towel bar is actuated to recline the vehicle seat 10. At this time, the carriage lock 56 is no longer engaged with the towel bar lock 58, and the first carriage spring 54 moves the first carriage 52 to the first position. At this time, the first guide track group 24 is in the Fig. 4 shown condition.

[0041] The memory wheel 72 contains, as already mentioned with reference to Fig. 9, the coil spring 94. The purpose of the coil spring 94 is to reset the memory assembly 38 in a situation where the memory assembly 38 is moved to the released position when the vehicle seat 10 is not in the position selected by a user. The coil spring 94 is mounted between the memory wheel 72 and the wheel cover 90. The coil spring 94 is tensioned when the memory wheel 72 rotates relative to the wheel cover 90 and the memory housing 88 in the direction in which the memory nut 106 is moved away from the memory wheel 72. That is, when the vehicle seat 10 is moved in the forward direction 18, energy is stored in the coil spring 94. Accordingly, when the vehicle seat 10 is moved in the rearward direction 20, the energy of the coil spring 94 is released.The coil spring 94 cannot release its energy during normal operation of the memory assembly 38 because the teeth 74 engage the guide track 76 and prevent rotation of the memory wheel 72 (except for the rotation caused when the upper rail 28 is moved relative to the lower rail 26). In the situation where the memory assembly 38 is moved to the released state and does not assume the position selected by a user, the memory assembly 38 is in the position shown in . Fig.4, and the memory wheel 72 is free to rotate relative to the memory housing 88. Then, the energy stored in the coil spring 94 causes the memory wheel to rotate relative to the memory housing 88 until the memory nut 106 is in its position closest to the memory wheel 72. The memory nut 106 engages the memory wheel 72 and, as previously described, prevents further rotation of the memory wheel 72 and also prevents further release of energy from the coil spring 94. At this time, the memory assembly 38 has been reset and is now capable of setting the new user-selected position when the vehicle seat 10 is folded again.

[0042] The principle and operation of the present invention have been explained and illustrated in its preferred embodiment. However, it is to be understood that the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as expressly explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.

Claims

[1] Guideway group (22, 24), which includes: a first rail (26); a second rail (28) supported by the first rail (26) for relative movement in a forward direction (18) and a reverse direction (20); a locking arrangement (30) mounted on the second rail (28) and operable to be placed in a locked state to resist relative movement of the first rail (26) and the second rail (28) to one another; a memory assembly (38) mounted on the second rail (28) and engageable to establish a user-selected position, the memory assembly (38) comprising a memory wheel (72) having teeth (75); and an activation lever (42) as a first actuating element, which can be placed in an engaged state, whereby the locking arrangement (30) is released from the locked state and the memory arrangement (38) is placed in the engaged state, wherein, when the memory assembly (38) is in the engaged state and at the position selected by the user, the memory assembly (38) resists movement of the second rail (28) relative to the first rail (26) in the rearward direction (20), characterized by , that, when the memory arrangement (38) is in the engaged state and at the position selected by the user, the teeth (75) engage a guide track (76) of the first rail (26) so that when the second rail (28) moves relative to the first rail (26) in the forward direction (18), the memory arrangement (38) is displaced relative to the second rail (28) in the reverse direction (20) to a first position. [2] The guideway assembly (22, 24) of claim 1, wherein the memory assembly (38) resists movement of the second rail (28) relative to the first rail (26) in the rearward direction (20) when the memory assembly (38) is in the engaged state and in the position selected by the user, regardless of the state of the locking assembly (30). [3] The guideway assembly (22, 24) of claim 1 or 2, further comprising an actuator lock (78) that is placed in a locked state when the memory assembly (38) is moved to the first position, wherein the actuator lock (78) in the locked state resists release of the activation lever (42) from the engaged state. [4] The guideway group (22, 24) according to claim 3, wherein the actuator lock (78) is moved linearly when the actuator lock (78) is placed in the locked state. [5] Guideway group (22, 24) according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising a carriage (52) which can be placed in an engaged state in order to place the memory arrangement (38) in the engaged state. [6] Guideway assembly (22, 24) according to claim 5, further comprising a lock (56, 58) which resists movement of the carriage (52) from the engaged state regardless of the state of the activation lever (42). [7] The guideway assembly (22, 24) of claim 6, further comprising a second actuating member (32) operable to release the carriage (52) from the lock (56, 58). [8] Guideway group (22, 24), which includes: a first rail (26) attached to a frame; a second rail (28) supported by the first rail (26) for movement relative to the first rail (26) in a forward direction (18) and a reverse direction (20); a locking arrangement (30) mounted on the second rail (28) and capable of being placed in a locking state in which it resists the relative movement of the first rail (26) and the second rail (28) to one another; and a memory assembly (38) that can be placed in an engaged state to release the locking assembly (30) from the locked state to set a position selected by a user, the memory assembly (38) including a memory wheel (72) attached to the second rail (28) and a guide track (76) attached to the first rail (26), and the memory wheel (72) including teeth (75) that engage openings formed by the guide track (76) when the memory assembly (38) is in the engaged state, wherein, when the memory assembly (38) is in the engaged state and in the position selected by the user, the memory assembly (38) resists the movement of the second rail (28) relative to the first rail (26) in the reverse direction (20), characterized by , that when the memory arrangement (38) is in the engaged state and in the state selected by the user selected position, and the second rail (28) moves relative to the first rail (26) by a predetermined distance (77) in the forward direction (18), the memory arrangement (38) is displaced relative to the second rail (28) by the predetermined distance (77) in the reverse direction (20) to a first position. [9] The guideway group (22, 24) of claim 8, further comprising: when the memory assembly (38) is in the first position and the second rail (28) moves relative to the first rail (26) in the forward direction (18), the memory wheel (72) rotates relative to the guideway (76).

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