The patent's assignee is Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: "The present disclosure relates generally to adjustable vehicle seat assemblies utilizing power track systems. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to enhancements to a power track system and its transmission.
"Vehicle seat assemblies are typically provided with a track system that enables the forward and rearward positioning of the seat assembly. Such adjustment capability is desirable to enable vehicle operators of various sizes to be seated comfortably within the motor vehicle. Such seat assemblies typically include a track assembly including two tracks that move relative to one another and a latching mechanism that retains the tracks (and therefore the seat assembly) in a locked position relative to one another until the latch mechanism is released. The tracks may be moved relative to one another, which allows the occupant of the seat assembly to adjust the seat assembly to a new position.
"Some vehicle seat assemblies include an electric motor, a transmission and a lead screw positioned within the track assembly for power adjustment of the vehicle seat. In such arrangements, the lead screw may generally be fixed and does not rotate. The transmission includes a worm gear assembly rotatably coupled to the lead screw and the electric motor causes the worm gear to rotate causing the transmission to translate along the fixed non-rotating lead screw to adjust the vehicle seat assembly forward or rearward.
"In such configuration, the electric motor, mounted on a traverse beam is positioned relative to each of the tracks, for example in the center of the tracks or at one end of the tracks. A transmission mounting bracket couples the transmission, which may float inside of the mounting bracket, and the stationary lead screw to one of the rails. Thus, the strength of the power track is realized through the transmission mounting bracket. In the event of a collision, the load on the bracket could cause the bracket to bend. Using a larger bracket to provide more strength to the power track could be problematic due to space constraints inside the track section that limits the size of the mounting bracket.
"Occasionally, the movement of the seat forward can place the occupant of the vehicle too close to airbags that are located in front of the occupant. In such arrangement, the power to the air bag could be diminished or turned off. Generally, it is known to provide a seat position sensor for controlling the airbag based upon seat position. However, such known seat position sensors are affected by debris (such as dirt and dust) in the passenger cabin of the vehicle.
"Therefore there is a need for a stronger transmission mounting bracket that can withstand the extra load encountered in situations such as a vehicle collision. There is also a need for a compact design of a sensor arrangement that can detect the position of the seat in reference to the proximity of an airbag and adjust the airbag power down or off as needed."
As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, VerticalNews correspondents also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent application: "In one exemplary embodiment, a vehicle seat power track for an automobile vehicle seat includes a lower rail for being fixed to a vehicle floor and an upper rail for having a seat fixed thereto and the upper rail may be mounted and traveled freely with support of the lower rail. The power track system includes a lead screw member which may extend in longitudinal direction of the rails and a transmission member located inside the rails and mounted using a bracket. A motor is provided and may be coupled to the transmission member to cause movement of the transmission along the lead screw in the longitudinal direction of the track. In the exemplary embodiment, the lead screw may be mounted on the upper rail and the transmission and bracket member on the lower rail to enable relative movement of the upper to the lower rails. A position sensor may be mounted at a predetermined position on the top surface of the upper rail to detect a magnet or a plate member (or detecting cell) generating a magnetic field near the sensor. In the one exemplary embodiment, the detecting cell (plate member) is mounted on a surface of the bracket member facing a top surface of the upper rail such that when the vehicle seat is moved to a predetermined position the plate member is aligned with the seat position sensor and affects the signal status of the seat position sensor.
"In one exemplary embodiment, the bracket member includes flanges extending along the lower rail and the bracket member clip front and back surfaces of the transmission.
"In one exemplary embodiment, a support member fixedly couples the lead screw to the upper rail. The support member contacts a rear surface of the transmission to form a stop surface and functions to control or limit the seat movement. Further, in the one exemplary embodiment, one end of the detecting cell is aligned at the level of the stop surface of the transmission. Further, in the one exemplary embodiment, another end of the detecting cell extends, or is cantilevered, in one direction from the bracket member.
"In an exemplary embodiment, the detecting cell is fixed to the bracket member using a welding process and in particular a laser welding process to minimize any welding projections from the resulting combination of the detecting cell and bracket member.
"In one exemplary embodiment, the seat position sensor includes a magnet and a detection member for detecting a magnetic field.
"In one exemplary embodiment, the seat position sensor is located toward a rear end of the upper rail and the bracket member and detecting cell are located toward the front end of the lower rail to detect a seat position which is a front most position and to control or prevent deployment of a front airbag. In one exemplary embodiment, the front airbag is deployed with a lower force when the seat is detected as being the front most position. In one exemplary embodiment, the front airbag is not deployed when the seat is detected as being the front most position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
"FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a seat assembly according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 2 is a top view of a track system as used with a seat assembly shown in FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 3 is a cross section of a track system of FIG. 2 along line 3-3 according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 4 is a magnified view of a track system transmission according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a track system of FIG. 2 according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 6 is a magnified view of a seat position sensor according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 7 is a cross section of a track system of FIG. 2 according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 8 is a magnified view of a shunt member according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 9 is a cross section of a seat track system of FIG. 2 according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 10 is a magnified view of a seat position sensor according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a lead screw illustrating a spacer between the lead screw bracket and saddle bracket according to an exemplary embodiment.
"FIG. 12 is a magnified view of the lead screw in FIG. 11 according to an exemplary embodiment."
Source;
http://www.4-traders.com/HONDA-MOTOR-CO-LTD-6492457/news/Honda-Motor-Co-Ltd--Researchers-Submit-Patent-Application-Vehicle-Seat-Power-Track-Enhancements-17746625/
