Vehicle seat with locking apparatus

摘要

A vehicle seat has a carriage that moves linearly with respect to a base, and a locking apparatus for preventing unwanted movement of the carriage in the event of an emergency. The locking apparatus has first and second toothed components which inter-engage such that, during movement of the carriage with respect to the base, one of the first and second toothed components imparts movement to the other. A locking gear is engaged with the teeth of the first component for rotation thereby, and is movable into a locking state where it also engages with the teeth of the second component to prevent relative movement between the first and second components. The locking gear moves into the locking state in response to a decelerating force above a threshold level.

主权项

1. A vehicle seat having a carriage that is linearly movable with respect to a base, and a locking apparatus comprising a first and a second component, each having a respective set of teeth that inter-engage such that, during movement of the carriage with respect to the base, one of said first and second toothed components imparts movement to the other via the respective teeth, the locking apparatus further comprising a locking gear movable into a locking state where it engages with the teeth of said second component to prevent relative movement between the first and second components,
wherein said carriage is linearly movable with respect to said base along a first axis corresponding to a fore-and-aft direction of a seated, said locking gear being responsive to a force in a first direction along said first axis above a threshold level to move from a non-locking state into said locking state, and wherein said force is created in use by deceleration of said vehicle seat.