Vehicle seat assembly having assist handle
A vehicle seat assembly includes a seat, a seatback operatively coupled to the seat, and an assist handle located on the seat back, wherein the assist handle is releasable from a stowed position and pivotable outward to a first deployed position and rotatable laterally to a second deployed position. The vehicle seat assembly also includes a release mechanism configured to release the assist handle from at least one of the stowed position and the second deployed position, the release mechanism comprising a bias feature to bias the assist handle towards the first deployed position or the stowed position.
1. A vehicle seat assembly comprising:
a seat;
a seatback operatively coupled to the seat;
an assist handle located on the seat back, wherein the assist handle is releasable from a stowed position and pivotable outward to a first deployed position and rotatable laterally to a second deployed position; and
a release mechanism configured to release the assist handle from at least one of the stowed position and the second deployed position, the release mechanism comprising a bias feature to bias the assist handle towards one of the first deployed position and the stowed position.
2. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the release mechanism comprises a first release mechanism for releasing the assist handle from the stowed position to move towards the first deployed position.
3. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 2 , wherein the first release mechanism comprises a first user release input device operatively coupled to a first locking mechanism.
4. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 3 , wherein the release mechanism comprises a second release mechanism for releasing the assist handle from the second deployed position to move towards the first deployed position.
5. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 4 , wherein the second release mechanism comprises a second user release input device coupled to a second locking mechanism.
6. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the seatback comprises a setback frame and the assist handle is structurally supported by the seatback frame.
7. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 further comprising a strain gauge operatively coupled to the assist handle to sense strain applied to the assist handle.
8. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 7 further comprising an output alarm indicating a sensed strain exceeding a threshold.
9. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 further comprising a seat actuator controlled to move the seat to a predetermined position when the assist handle is in a deployed position.
10. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the assist handle is located on a front side of the seatback.
11. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 10 , wherein the assist handle rotates forward to the first deployed position and laterally outward towards a door opening to the second deployed position.
12. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the release mechanism comprises a locking pin.
13. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 12 , wherein the release mechanism further comprises a cable operatively coupled to the locking pin and operating in response to a user input.
14. A vehicle seat assembly comprising:
a seat;
a seatback operatively coupled to the seat;
an assist handle located on the seat back, wherein the assist handle is releasable from a stowed position in a front side of the seatback and is pivotable forward to a first deployed position and rotatable laterally to a second deployed position;
a first release mechanism configured to release the assist handle from the stowed position towards the deployed first position; and
a second release mechanism configured to release the assist handle from the second deployed position towards the first deployed position.
15. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 14 , wherein the first release mechanism comprises a first user release input device operatively coupled to a first locking mechanism for releasing the assist handle from the stowed position.
16. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 15 further comprising a first spring to return the assist handle from the first deployed position to the stowed position.
17. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 14 , wherein the second release mechanism comprise a second locking mechanism for releasing the assist handle from the second deployed position.
18. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 17 further comprising a second spring to bias the assist handle towards the first deployed position.
19. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 14 further comprising a strain gauge operatively coupled to the assist handle to sense strain applied to the assist handle.
20. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 19 further comprising an output alarm indicating a sensed strain exceeding a threshold.