Switch assemblies for controlling positioning motors which adjust the position of vehicle seat segments are designed so as to allow the user of a motor vehicle to adjust the seat positions electrically. The user of the vehicle may thereby adjust the individual seat segments by moving actuating elements in a direction which corresponds to a desired change in seat position.
Switch assemblies have been described in DE-PS 28 39 367 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,682. In these switch assemblies, the working parts of the individual switching devices are built into a housing which is enclosed by a housing cover. The actuating elements are situated on the housing cover and the working parts are designed in such a way that the mechanisms for the different seat segments (horizontal seat cushion, seat back and headrest) are all different from one another and segment-specific. In addition, in these switch assemblies, the working parts are installed in the housing in such a way that different, mirror-image constructions are needed for the right and left vehicle seats. This entails high production costs because of the large number of different working parts and the relatively complex assembly processes involved.
A switch assembly for seat positioning motors for use with motor vehicle seat segments where the switching elements are mounted on a printed circuit board mounted in a housing has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,872. However, in that disclosure, the switching elements are not designed as pre-assembled switch modules which are capable of functioning as they stand. Instead, they must be constructed from components which are mounted on the printed circuit board and are not capable of self-contained functioning. Such a switch assembly construction, which is in effect an arrangement of pressure switches, makes it necessary to provide a separate user push-button for each direction of adjustment. This is extremely confusing because of the many different directions involved. It can happen that the user must carry out many separate switching operations until the ideal seat position has been established. The extreme user-friendliness of the present invention, where the user only needs to move the actuating elements in a direction corresponding to the direction of movement desired in the seat segment itself to reach the optimum position, cannot be achieved by such individual push-button pressure switch systems.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds