The disclosure relates generally to latch mechanisms for controlling reclining movement of a vehicle seat back and more particularly to a seat back latch that precludes audible "ratcheting" of the latch thereof. A spring loaded pawl is engageable with an articulated slidable arm to latch the seat at a desired reclining position. The pawl is pivoted so as to bias the arm away from the teeth thereon due to an angular relationship between the pawl and arm when the arm is released for movement.
A rear seat for an all purpose vehicle has front and rear legs that are releasably latched to pins located in escutcheons in the vehicle floor. The rear seat is manually folded and stored in the vehicle by releasing the rear legs and pivoting the seat forward on the front pins to a vertical position. The seat is removed from the vehicle by releasing the front legs when the seat is in the stored position and lifting the seat off the front pins. The latch mechanisms for the front and rear legs have locks so that the legs are not unlatched unintentionally. A lift assist mechanism is also provided for pivoting the seat forward on the front pins to the stored position.
An improved motor vehicle seat hinge mechanism which includes an inertia sensitive latching device which prevents forward rotation of the seat back in the event of sudden vehicle deceleration. The vehicle seat hinge mechanism according to this invention improves over prior art designs by providing a quadrant component which does not present objectionable rearward protrusions which interfere with rear seat occupants while entering and egressing from the rear seat area and, further, avoids the presentation of sharp projections which could cause tearing and wearing of interior trim fabrics. The seat back hinge mechanism further includes a cam plate which biases the inertia sensitive latching device such that it is in a position to latch when the seat back is in its normal position. Due to the use of the cam plate, the seat hinge according to this invention is less sensitive to malfunctions caused by hinge component misalignment.
A spring loaded latch mechanism for controlling tilting movement of a seat back relative to a seat frame to which it is pivoted, includes an elongated rod having one toothed face and only one end connected to the seat, a latch frame connected to the seat and supporting the other end of the rod for reciprocation therewithin, a pawl adapted to releasably engage the teeth, a manually-operated handle, and a cam interconnecting the handle and the pawl to drive the pawl into and from engagement. In one embodiment similar latch mechanisms are provided, one on each side of the seat with the mechanism opposite to the handle being a slave having a free-floating cam plate and a lever plate driven by the operator, actuation of the slave cam plate resulting from the lever plate being rotated thereagainst independently of the master latch mechanism on the handle side.
A seat hinge assembly includes a lower support pivotally supporting an intermediate support and an upper support pivotally supported by the intermediate support. The intermediate support is selectively locked in one of two positions via a lower cam and lock pin. A pawl is pivotally supported by the intermediate support and includes a tooth portion for selective engagement with a tooth portion of the upper support. A spindle is rotatably supported by the intermediate support and is in operative communication with an upper cam. Rotation of the spindle in a first direction disengages the upper cam from the pawl, thus disengaging the teeth portions for enabling forward rotation of the upper support relative to the lower support. Subsequently, the spindle is rotatable in a second direction for disengaging the lower cam and lock pin arrangement for enabling rotation of the intermediate support relative to the lower support.
A seat recliner for adjusting the angular position of a seatback relative to a seat bottom. The seat recliner includes a first member secured to the seat bottom, a second member secured to the seatback and supported for pivotal movement relative to the first member, and a latching mechanism operable in a latched mode for inhibiting pivotal movement of the second member relative to the first member and in an unlatched mode for permitting pivotal movement of the second member. The latching mechanism includes a first gear non-rotatably fixed to the second member, a second gear rotatably supported from the first member and in constant meshed engagement with the first gear, and a third gear in constant meshed engagement with the first gear. A recline actuator mechanism shifts the latching mechanism from the latched mode into the unlatched mode by moving the third gear from a first position whereat it is also meshed with the second gear to a second position whereat it is released from meshed engagement with the second gear.
