Vehicle Seat Latching Assembly With Cam-Track Easy-Entry Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle seat assemblies lack an efficient and mechanical means to transition between configurations for accommodating occupants and facilitating easy entry, often relying on complex electrical or electronic systems.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat assembly featuring a purely mechanical latching device with a movable hook and latch cam, driven by a cam system, allowing the squab frame to pivot relative to the movable section of the slideway, enabling configuration changes without electrical components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a mechanical latching device with cam system is used, then device complexity is reduced and reliability is improved, but the ability to enable easy entry configuration may be limited
Solution Approach 1:
The latch cam is designed to be movable between a first position (latching the hook) and a second position (unlatching the hook), allowing the system to dynamically transition between locked and unlocked states. This dynamic capability enables the seat assembly to switch between occupied and easy-entry configurations while maintaining mechanical reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam track serves as an intermediary element that guides the movement of the latch cam between its latching and unlatching positions. By providing a predefined mechanical path, the cam track enables reliable configuration transitions without requiring complex electronic control systems.
2Ease of manufacture
If a purely mechanical latching device is used, then ease of manufacture and maintenance are improved, but control precision for configuration transitions may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cam track is designed with curved geometry that precisely guides the latch cam through its movement path. The specific shape of the cam track ensures accurate positioning of the latch cam at both latched and unlatched positions, providing the necessary precision for reliable operation while maintaining mechanical simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam profile is designed with specific geometric parameters that control the timing and precision of the latch cam's movement. By carefully selecting cam profile parameters, the system achieves precise latching position control without requiring complex manufacturing processes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The mechanical latching device allows seamless transition between configurations, enhancing accessibility and reducing the need for complex electronic controls, while maintaining reliability and simplicity.
Implementation Method 1
a movable latch cam for selectively latching the hook in its latched position of the latching device, a device for driving the latch cam between a latched position of the hook in its latched position of the latching device and at least one other position, the drive device of the latch cam comprising a first cam and a cam track adapted so that the first cam drives the latch cam into motion as it travels along the cam track
Implementation Method 2
the latch cam and the hook are resiliently biased towards each other
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle seat assembly comprises a squab frame, a slideway and a latching device selectively activatable to lock/unlock movement of the squab frame relative to a movable profile of the slideway. The latching device comprises a shaft, a hook movable between a latched position of the latching device and an unlatched position of the latching device, a latch cam movable to selectively latch the hook in its latched position, and a device for driving the latch cam between a latched position of the hook in its latched position of the latching device and another position. The drive device comprises a cam which drives the latch cam into motion as it travels along a fixed cam track.