US-12617324-B2 - Auto return headrest for seat assembly

Abstract

An assembly comprises a seat bottom and a seat back pivotally attached to the seat bottom. The seat back is pivotal between a fold-forward position and an in-use position. A headrest is pivotally attached to the seat back by a tilt mechanism and is pivotal between a folded position and an upright position via the tilt mechanism. The tilt mechanism pivots the headrest forward to the folded position in response to the seat back being pivoted to the fold-forward position. A headrest-return mechanism is operably coupled to the seat back and to the headrest, wherein the headrest-return mechanism actuates the headrest such that the headrest is pivoted from the folded position to the upright position in response to the seat back being pivoted from the fold-forward position to the in-use position.

Inventors

• Adarsha B. Madhu
• Dnyaneshwari DAPHAL
• Digvijay Patil
• Stephen Redwood
• Gopal KALBURGI
• Prafullakumar GAVALI

Assignees

• LEAR CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20240430

Priority Date

20230505

Claims (19)

1. 1 . An assembly comprising: a seat bottom; a seat back pivotally attached to the seat bottom; a headrest pivotally attached to the seat back; and a mechanism to pivot the headrest to an upright position responsive to the seat back being pivoted to an in-use position.
2. 2 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mechanism comprises a cam rotatably connected to the seat bottom and operably coupled to the headrest, wherein the cam rotates in a first direction relative to the seat bottom responsive to the seat back being pivoted to the in-use position.
3. 3 . The assembly of claim 2 further comprising a cable connected between the headrest and the cam.
4. 4 . The assembly of claim 3 further comprising: a pawl rotationally coupled to the cam; and a second cable connected between the headrest and the pawl.
5. 5 . The assembly of claim 2 , wherein the mechanism comprises a pawl pivotally connected to the cam, wherein the pawl rotates in unison with the cam when the seat back is pivoted to the in-use position.
6. 6 . The assembly of claim 5 , wherein the pawl rotates independently of the cam when the seat back is pivoted to a fold-flat position.
7. 7 . The assembly of claim 6 , wherein the seat is pivotally connected to the seat bottom by a first fastener and the pawl is pivotally connected to the cam by a second fastener.
8. 8 . The assembly of claim 5 , wherein the cam defines an arcuate slot and the pawl comprises a projection received in the slot.
9. 9 . The assembly of claim 1 further comprising: a first cable connected between the headrest and the mechanism such that the first cable causes the headrest to pivot to the upright position responsive to the seat back being pivoted to the in-use position; and a second cable connected between the headrest and the seat back such that the second cable causes the headrest to pivot to a folded position responsive to the seat back being pivoted to a fold-forward position.
10. 10 . An assembly comprising: a seat bottom; a seat back pivotally attached to the seat bottom, the seat back being pivotal between a fold-forward position and an in-use position; a headrest pivotally attached to the seat back by a tilt mechanism, the headrest being pivotal between a folded position and an upright position via the tilt mechanism, wherein the tilt mechanism pivots the headrest forward to the folded position in response to the seat back being pivoted to the fold-forward position; and a headrest-return mechanism is operably coupled to the seat back and to the headrest, wherein the headrest-return mechanism actuates the headrest such that the headrest is pivoted from the folded position to the upright position in response to the seat back being pivoted from the fold-forward position to the in-use position.
11. 11 . The assembly of claim 10 , wherein the headrest-return mechanism is operable to tilt the headrest forward in response to the seat back being pivoted from the in-use position to the fold-forward position.
12. 12 . The assembly of claim 10 further comprising a cable connected between the headrest and the mechanism.
13. 13 . The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the cable comprises a compensator that provides slack.
14. 14 . The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the headrest-return mechanism comprises: a cam connected to the cable and pivotally supported about a pivot axis; and a pawl pivotally attached to the cam, the pawl comprising a first surface and a second surface, wherein the pawl is pivotal relative to the cam when a pin fixed relative to the seat back engages the first surface such that the cable is not tensioned, and the pawl is locked with the cam such that the cable is tensioned when the pin engages the second surface.
15. 15 . The assembly of claim 14 , wherein the cam defines a first feature engageable with a second feature of the pawl.
16. 16 . The assembly of claim 10 further comprising: a first cable connected to the headrest such that the cable causes the headrest to pivot to the upright position responsive to the seat back being pivoted to the in-use position; and a second cable connected to the headrest such that the second cable causes the headrest to pivot to the folded position responsive to the seat back being pivoted to the fold-forward position.
17. 17 . The assembly of claim 16 , wherein the headrest-return mechanism comprises a cam operably coupled to the first and second cables.
18. 18 . The assembly of claim 17 , wherein the headrest-return mechanism further comprises a pawl pivotally attached to the cam and attached to the second cable.
19. 19 . The assembly of claim 18 , wherein the pawl pivots in unison with the cam in a first direction of rotation and pivots independent of the cam in a second direction of rotation.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims foreign priority benefits under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) to IN application No. 202341031999 filed May 5, 2023, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates to seats having a pivoting headrest that is automatically returned to an in-use position when a seat back is returned to an in-use position. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a seat assembly with a headrest in an upright position. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the seat assembly with the headrest in a forward folded position. FIG. 3 is a back perspective view of the headrest partially deconstructed for illustrative purposes. FIGS. 4A-4E illustrate a sequence of the seat assembly being moved to a stowed position and back to an in-use position. FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the headrest and seat back of the seat assembly. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a headrest-actuator assembly of another seat assembly. FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate a sequence of the another seat assembly being moved to a stowed position. FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate a sequence of the another seat assembly being moved from the stowed position to the in-use position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various described embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments. It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary and that various and alternative forms are possible. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ embodiments according to the disclosure. “One or more” includes a function being performed by one element, a function being performed by more than one element, e.g., in a distributed fashion, several functions being performed by one element, several functions being performed by several elements, or any combination of the above. It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. are, in some instances, used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first member could be termed a second member, and, similarly, a second member could be termed a first member, without departing from the scope of the various described embodiments. The first member and the second member are both member, but they are not the same member. The terminology used in the description of the various described embodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various described embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a seat assembly 20 according to an embodiment. The seat assembly 20 is illustrated as a vehicle seat assembly 20 for seating an occupant in a land vehicle, an aircraft, a watercraft, or the like. Any seat assembly 20, such as an office chair or a lounge chair may be employed, according to other embodiments. The seat assembly 20 may be a second-row seat or third-row seat of a vehicle. The seat assembly 20 may include one or more seating positions. For the depicted embodiment, the vehicle seat assembly 20 includes a seat bottom 22 for seating an occupant. The seat bottom 22 includes a frame 24 for supporting a cushion (not shown). The frame 24 may be supported upon rails for adjustment of a seating position of the seat assembly 20 or directly mounted on a substrate such as a floor, e