US3578384A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Adjustable headrest for vehicle seats
Assignee: McCord Corp
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Filing: 1968-11-25
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Granted: 1971-05-11
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Expires: 1988-11-25
Abstract
Abstract A headrest for a vehicle seat wherein the cushioned headrest pad has one or more vertically depending support arms thereon which are vertically slideable in support brackets mounted within the seat cushion. Each support bracket is formed with a guideway for receiving the associated support arm. Each support bracket has a pair of inclined tabs thereon, an upper tab inclining upwardly and away from the guideway and a lower tab inclining downwardly and away from the guideway to form with an axially extending surface portion of the support arm a pair of acute angle cavities. Cylindrical members are arranged in the cavities to form friction wedges and springs are connected with the cylindrical members to urge them into tangential contact with the tabs and with the support arm so that vertical movement of the support arm is yieldably resisted by the frictional wedge action of spring-biased cylindrical members.
Inventors
- 👤 Ludwig Leichtl
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 01:26
CPC Classifications
D; D01; D01H; D01H1/00; D01H1/14; D01H1/36; B; B60; B60N; B60N2/00; B60N2/80; B60N2/806; B60N2/809; B60N2/812; B60N2/821; B60N2/826
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
249 words
An adjustable headrest for a vehicle seat comprising a support bracket adapted to be attached to a support member located internally within an upholstered seat back cushion, means on said support bracket forming a vertically extending guideway thereon, a headrest support arm vertically slideable in said guideway, said guideway forming means including a pair of generally flat faces which are inclined to the axis of the guideway, one of said faces being inclined upwardly and away from the guideway and the other face being inclined downwardly and away from the guideway, each of said faces forming an acute angle cavity with an axially extending face portion of the support arm, a wedge member in each of said cavities extending transversely of the axis of the support arm and laterally outwardly beyond the opposite vertical side edges of said inclined faces, spring anchor means at the opposite ends of said wedge members, spring anchor means fixed on said support bracket and vertically offset from said inclined faces, individual springs extending between and interconnected with the spring anchor means on each end of each wedge and the anchor means on said bracket for biasing each of said wedge members into frictional engagement with said face portion of the support arm and the inclined face of the associated cavity whereby movement of the support arm vertically upwardly is yieldably resisted by one of said wedge members and movement of the support arm vertically downwardly is yieldably resisted by the other wedge member.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
249 words
An adjustable headrest for a vehicle seat comprising a support bracket adapted to be attached to a support member located internally within an upholstered seat back cushion, means on said support bracket forming a vertically extending guideway thereon, a headrest support arm vertically slideable in said guideway, said guideway forming means including a pair of generally flat faces which are inclined to the axis of the guideway, one of said faces being inclined upwardly and away from the guideway and the other face being inclined downwardly and away from the guideway, each of said faces forming an acute angle cavity with an axially extending face portion of the support arm, a wedge member in each of said cavities extending transversely of the axis of the support arm and laterally outwardly beyond the opposite vertical side edges of said inclined faces, spring anchor means at the opposite ends of said wedge members, spring anchor means fixed on said support bracket and vertically offset from said inclined faces, individual springs extending between and interconnected with the spring anchor means on each end of each wedge and the anchor means on said bracket for biasing each of said wedge members into frictional engagement with said face portion of the support arm and the inclined face of the associated cavity whereby movement of the support arm vertically upwardly is yieldably resisted by one of said wedge members and movement of the support arm vertically downwardly is yieldably resisted by the other wedge member.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
32 words
A headrest as called for in claim 1 whereiN said inclined faces are spaced apart axially of said guideway, one adjacent the upper end thereof and one adjacent the lower end thereof.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
A headrest as called for in claim 2 wherein the upper inclined face inclines upwardly and away from the guideway and the lower inclined face inclined downwardly and away from the guideway.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
A headrest as called for in claim 1 wherein said faces are inclined to the axis of the guideway at an angle of between about 25* and 40*.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
54 words
A headrest as called for in claim 1 wherein the springs connected with one of said wedge members are adapted to exert a biasing force on said one wedge member which is different in magnitude from the biasing force exerted on the other wedge member by the springs connected with the latter wedge member.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
A headrest as called for in claim 3 wherein the spring anchor means on said bracket are located vertically intermediate said upper and lower inclined faces and said springs comprise tension springs.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
171 words
An adjustable headrest for a vehicle seat comprising a support bracket adapted to be fixedly mounted on the vehicle seat, said support bracket having a pair of spaced-apart vertically extending sidewalls and spaced-apart vertically extending front and back walls which cooperate to define a generally rectangularly shaped vertically extending guideway, the upper end portion of one of said walls having a tab thereon which inclines upwardly and away from the guideway, the lower end of one of said walls having a tab thereon which inclines downwardly and away from the guideway, a headrest support arm slideable vertically in said guideway, said support arm being shaped in cross section to correspond generally with the cross-sectional shape of said guideway and having generally flat axially extending face portions cooperating with said tabs to form a pair of acute-angle cavities therewith, a wedge member in each of said cavities and means biasing each of said wedge members into frictional engagement with its associated tab and the adjacent flat face portion of the support arm.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
171 words
An adjustable headrest for a vehicle seat comprising a support bracket adapted to be fixedly mounted on the vehicle seat, said support bracket having a pair of spaced-apart vertically extending sidewalls and spaced-apart vertically extending front and back walls which cooperate to define a generally rectangularly shaped vertically extending guideway, the upper end portion of one of said walls having a tab thereon which inclines upwardly and away from the guideway, the lower end of one of said walls having a tab thereon which inclines downwardly and away from the guideway, a headrest support arm slideable vertically in said guideway, said support arm being shaped in cross section to correspond generally with the cross-sectional shape of said guideway and having generally flat axially extending face portions cooperating with said tabs to form a pair of acute-angle cavities therewith, a wedge member in each of said cavities and means biasing each of said wedge members into frictional engagement with its associated tab and the adjacent flat face portion of the support arm.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
A headrest as called for in claim 7 wherein said tabs are formed on the same wall of the bracket.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
42 words
A headrest as called for in claim 8 including a channel-shaped bearing insert in said guideway, said insert engaging three walls of said guideway and being open at the face thereof juxtaposed to the wall of the guideway having said tabs thereon.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
A headrest as called for in claim 7 wherein said tabs incline to the axis of the guideway at an angle of between about 25* to 40*.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
A headrest as called for in claim 7 wherein said wedge members are of cylindrical shape.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
21 words
A headrest as called for in claim 7 wherein said biasing means comprise springs connected with each of said wedge members.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
45 words
A headrest as called for in claim 7 wherein said biasing means comprises a first pair of tension springs connected between said bracket and one of said wedge members and a second pair of tension springs connected between said bracket and the other wedge member.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
A headrest as called for in claim 13 wherein one of said pair of springs is stronger than the other pair of springs.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
38 words
A headrest as called for in claim 14 wherein the pair of springs connected with the wedge member in the upper cavity is stronger than the pair of springs connected with the wedge member in the lower cavity.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
57 words
A headrest as called for in claim 7 wherein said support arm has a transversely extending groove adjacent the lower end thereof in said face portion thereof associated with the lower cavity and into which the wedge member in the lower cavity is adapted to seat upon movement of the support arm upwardly to a predetermined position.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3159427A
Cited
US3467352A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-05-10 | 1974-11-09 | 1975-05-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-05-10 | 1978-11-09 | 1979-05-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-05-10 | 1982-11-09 | 1983-05-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |