Seat reclining mechanism

Claim 1

A reclining mechanism for a vehicle seat comprising a backrest pivot bracket member which is adapted to be fixed relative to the seat frame; a backrest support arm; a cam and bearing assembly mounted on a support shaft for rotation with said shaft, said assembly having axially spaced cylindrical bearing portions at its ends and an intermediate cam portion, one of said cylindrical bearing portions being positioned in an aperture in said bracket member and the other being positioned in an elongated slot in said backrest support arm; a first, curved, multi-tooth sector member fixedly carried by said bracket member; a second, curved, multi-tooth sector member fixedly carried by said backrest support arm and selectively engageable in various positions with said first sector member, said second sector member having an internally formed elongated slot which receives said cam portion, said internally formed slot being arranged generally normal to the slot in the backrest support arm and in axial alignment therewith, said internally formed slot having a first wall which is adapted to be engaged by rotation of said cam portion so that a first edge portion of said cam portion applies a force to said first sector member to lock the teeth of said first and second sector members in engagement with each other, said internally formed slot having a second wall which is opposite said first wall and adapted to be engaged by the rotation into it of a second edge portion of said cam portion to cause said first and second sector members to move out of engagement with each other; a backrest return spring engaged at one end relative to said backrest support arm and at its other end relative to said bracket member so as to urge said backrest support arm forwardly; and a manually actuated handle means mounted on said support shaft for rotating said shaft.