US Patent 7819479 Vehicle seat assembly having walk-in and fold-flat features

A vehicle seat assembly having a sliding seat bottom, a slide lock mechanism, a seat back pivotally mounted to the seat bottom, a pivot lock mechanism, a walk-in pivot release actuator, a fold-flat pivot release actuator and a blocking member. The blocking member moves between first, second and neutral positions. The blocking member is connected to the slide lock mechanism and the fold-flat pivot release actuator. The seat back moves the blocking member from the neutral position to the first position when the walk-in pivot release actuator is actuated and the seat back pivots forward. The blocking member unlocks the slide lock release mechanism when the blocking member is in the first position. The fold-flat release actuator, when actuated, moves the blocking member from the neutral position to the second position. The blocking member does not obstruct the seat back from pivoting forward when in the second position.