A lumbar support apparatus for a vehicle seat, may include a support frame; a hinge plate mounted on a middle portion of the support frame; an upper end plate mounted on an upper end portion of the support frame; a lower end plate mounted on a lower end portion of the support frame; and a rotary supporting shaft having both side end portions fixed to a seatback frame, and having an anti-rotation bending end portion supported by the rear surface of the hinge plate, wherein the rotary supporting shaft is inserted into a hinge holder formed on the rear surface of the hinge plate for rotating the hinge plate.

Vehicle seat fixed to the floor of a cabin of a vehicle and which is able to absorb the impact of a passenger seated behind. It comprises at least two uprights (20) per backrest, these being positioned substantially vertically and engaged via a lower end (30) in the fixed framework (32) of the seat in such a way as to be releasable through upward translational movement so that they can disengage upward under the effect of an impact on a rear face, and are mounted with the ability to rotate about at least one fixed axis of the fixed framework (32) so as to be able to pivot forwards after becoming disengaged. At least one deliberate mechanical weak link positioned between each upright (20) and the framework (32) blocks the translational movement of the upright below a determined force corresponding to the impact. Application to aircraft seats.

Pawls in a lifter device have: outer teeth that are rotatably supported by shafts in lock plates and are meshed with inner teeth of a base; and pins that are provided in an intermediate section in the radial direction, between the shaft center of the shafts and the teeth tips of the inner teeth, and are pressed in the rotation direction by a rotation transmittance plate during a release operation.

The invention relates to a hinge comprising a first part (11) that can be pivoted relative to a second part (12) about a pivot axis (a), wherein the first part (11) comprises at least one bore (13) and the second part (12) at least one recess (15a, 15b), wherein, in a final assembly position, at least pin one (17a, 17b) that is coaxial to the pivot axis (a), has a first longitudinal portion in the bore (13) and with a second longitudinal portion in the recess (15a, 15b), and the pin (17a, 17b) can be moved between a pre-assembly position, in which the pin (17a, 17b) is in the bore (13) or in the recess (15a, 15b) with a larger overlap with respect to the final assembly position, and the final assembly position. The special feature is that at least one holding element (18) can extend through a passage (31) in a seat (28) in such a way that the pin (17a, 17b) can be moved by the holding element (18) from the pre-assembly position into the final assembly position and that, in the final assembly position, the holding element (18) is positioned in such a way that it prevents a return movement of the pin (17a, 17b) from the final assembly position into the pre-assembly position.

A hinge assembly for integration into a seat release system includes a pivot stud having a shaft section and a first head section and an outer hinge component attached to the first head section of the pivot stud. The shaft section is adapted to be connected to a spring element of the pivot stud. The first head section has a rounded star-shaped cross-section with three or more protrusions converging in a direction outward from a center of the rounded star-shaped cross-section with at least one flat-ended protrusion. The outer hinge component defines a top wall and a sidewall. The top wall is adapted to be attached to a vehicle body structural component. Characteristically, the sidewall defines an opening into which the first head section of the pivot stud is positioned. A vehicle seat release system incorporating the hinge assembly is also provided.

A vehicle seat includes a seat cushion, an ottoman, and an energy absorbing portion. The ottoman is provided at a seat front side end portion of the seat cushion and is changeable between an unfolded position and a stored position. The ottoman, at the unfolded position, is adapted to support, from a seat lower side, calves of the passenger seated on the seat cushion, and the ottoman, at the stored position, is apart from the calves of the passenger seated on the seat cushion. The energy absorbing portion is configured to, in a case in which a load, which is inputted to the ottoman at the stored position toward a seat rear side, exceeds a predetermined value, absorb kinetic energy inputted to the ottoman while permitting displacement of the ottoman toward the seat rear side.

A vehicle seat hinge assembly including a base plate, a seat support assembly, and an off-center hinge. The base plate is configured to mount to a vehicle and the seat support assembly is configured to mount to the seat. The off-center hinge of the vehicle seat hinge assembly is positioned at one corner of the base plate and pivotally couples at least part of the seat support assembly to the base plate. The base plate has a base plate centerline and the off-center hinge has a hinge axis that is arranged at an oblique angle relative to the base plate centerline.

The embodiments described and claimed herein are improved vehicle access systems. In particular, one embodiment includes three compact, motorized mechanisms for pivoting a passenger seat toward a door opening, extending the passenger seat outside the door opening, lowering the passenger seat, and tilting the passenger seat to help the passenger stand. The first mechanism concurrently pivots the passenger seat and moves it sideways during the pivoting operation so that it is aligned with the door opening. The second mechanism extends the passenger seat outside the door opening. The third mechanism lowers the seat.

A track assembly includes a track, a support member, and/or a lever. The support member may be connected to the lever, and/or the lever may include a rotational axis substantially parallel to the track. The lever may rotation about the rotational axis between a first position and/or a second position. The lever may be configured to engage the track in a longitudinal direction when the lever may be in a first position. The lever may be configured to engage the track in a lateral direction when the lever may be in a second position. The lever may be configured to limit longitudinal movement of the support member along the track. The track may include a longitudinal window that may have a first edge and/or a second edge.

Disclosed is a seat including: a seat back; a seat cushion; and a reclining device that couples the seat back to the seat cushion in a swingable manner in one and another directions, wherein the reclining device includes: a locking mechanism that locks and unlocks swinging movement of the seat back; a biasing member that biases the seat back in one direction so as to swing the seat back in the one direction when the locking mechanism is unlocked; and a switching mechanism that switches a biasing direction of the biasing member for the seat back to another direction in a middle of the swinging movement of the seat back.