Assignment

The mechanical seat adjustment has also become more comfortable. If a customer, when trying out the seating of a new car, has to search too long for the seat adjustment levers, this could easily lead to a devaluation of the whole vehicle. The vertical height adjustment should also be possible without bouncing up and down while moving the levers. The increased sales of extra features and safety technology has lead to more and more pyrotechnics, also in the seats.

Function

Examples of the improvements could be, the handles for the front/rear adustment (see figure 1) mounted on both sides of the seat and the solid lever for the height adjustment. Similar to a ratchet, despite the weight of the person, the seat can be adjusted to any height by moving the handle either up- or downwards. If one has a look at the complicated mechanism, the electric solution is often even simpler.
As far as the pyrotechics are concerned, one should have a look at the stable seat-frame (see figure 2) and the channel opening to the top left hand side which is probably there to accomodate a side- or window air-bag. Even more interesting, is the charge mounted underneath and at the front of the seat (see figure 1). It is clamped directly onto the metal plate which is responsible for the stabilasion of the seat front-edge. To prevent diving (submarining) caused by, the (almost always) too loosely laid on lap-belts, in the event of an accident, this plate is forced upwards, causing a concave deformation, thus heightening the seat front-edge. If the the belt-tensioner for the lock mounted on the seat is also considered, one should not be surprised that the removal of the seat can only be done by a qualified expert. A safety-clip prevents the accidental triggering. 05/10