Design & Development of

Seat Recliner

Introduction
Seat Recliner is derived from the word Re-Incline that means
to incline oneself on the seat at desired and comfortable
position.
Recliners are assemblies fitted on the sides of the seat hinge
point with a protruding lever or knob which on operating helps
in adjusting the back of the seat at different angles to suit the
drivers & the passengers comfort, while driving/ sitting/
relaxing.
Main Types of recliner:1.Rotary type
2.Lever type
External Tooth Type
Internal Tooth Type

Various parts of Rotary Recliner

Two recliner assys. One Driver & one idler are
used per seat.The following are the main parts:
Sun & Planet Gears
Internal Rotating Shaft
Squab Plates
Braking arrangement (given on the driver & not on
the idler)
Both recliners are interconnected in one seat,
which results in higher initial cost

Various Parts of Lever Recliner

Base plate

Guide strip

Arm plate

Roller

Upper tooth

Helical spring

Lower tooth

Spiral spring

Lever

Lock washer

Plate holder

Arm shaft big

Exploded View of Lever Type recliner

Arm Plate

Spring

Plate
Holder

Lever
Base Plate

Mechanism of recliners
Basic Designs
a. Only Recliner mechanism - extensions
to be riveted/welded to suit different
seats.
b.

Tailor Made Recliners for a particular

seat. As being manufactured by us.

c.

Recliner integral with seat rails.

Main Indian Types of Recliners

Safety parameters of Recliner

Crash related vibrations of the head rest should not

exceed 300 milli-seconds to avoid damage to riders
spinal cord.

Locking of upper & lower tooth should be proper to

ensure safety of passengers.

Spiral & Helical Spring should be strong & do not fail or

loose their stiffness while operating

There should be no excessive play in the Recliner

Parts.

Main Recliner Positions

Critical Aspects of Recliner

Robust in construction giving a firm grip to the seat - In

our design special material ST42/ Fe 410 is used to
give the required strength to the recliner base plate, a
strong Pin holds the reclining mechanism in position.

Smooth reclining & locking mechanism - This is

fundamental requirement of the hinge & locking teeth
which are engaged & disengaged during lever
operation In our design the upper & lower tooth are
made of C20 material and blanked on state of the art
fine blanking presses.

Recliners being manufactured at

MAL

Seat recliner RH & LH of

Tata Indica

Seat recliner RH & LH of

Fiat Palio

New Developments
PUNTO
NANO
VISTA

DESIGN &
DEVELOPMENT
STEPS

MAL uses NX/IDEAS software to design

recliners as per customer requirement.

We follow APQP steps during

Product Development
Plan & Define programme
Product Design and Development
Product and Process Validation
Process Design & Development
Feedback Assessment & Corrective Action

Time Plan with Target dates

Bench marking with competitors

Continuous interaction with Customers

Conceptualization & Sketching

STEPS TO REACH FINAL

DIMENSIONS

Concept Sketch
Similar Component Inspection-Material &
Dimensions
Preliminary Drawings
3D Modeling to Check Assembly & Operation
Proto Parts Building
Trials
Final Dimensions
(Steps can be reduced based on Input Data)

CAD Modeling

Dies prepared on our CNC

Machines

Adaptation of our Recliner on

different Indian Vehicles

MAL Recliner on
Scorpio Seat

MAL Recliner on
Tavera Seat

Our Strong Vendor Base

LIST OF TEST RIGS

1. Teeth Endurance Test Rig
2. Moment Durability Test Rig RH
3. Moment Durability Test Rig LH
4. Free Play Test Rig RH
5. Free Play Test Rig LH
6. Static Strength Test Rig
7. Impact Load Test Rig

TEETH ENDURANCE TEST RIG

MOMENT DURABILITY TEST

RIG-RH/LH

FREE PLAY TEST RIG-RH/LH &

STATIC STRENGTH TEST RIG

IMPACT LOAD TEST RIG

PROJECTION WELDING LOAD

TEST

Special Checks carried out before

dispatch
1) Play on Hinge arm.
2) Lever operating force
3) Static strength
4) Return torque
5) Durability
6) Operation of twisted arm
7) Play on recliner lever
8) Material test reports
9) Salt sparay test
10) Dimensional report.
11)Heat Resistance
12) Cold Resistance
13) Dust resistance

Current position of Majestic

MAL has started supply of PALIO lever type Recliners

to TJC which is seat manufacturer for TATA Motors.
This design is an improvement on TATA Indica design
earlier made by MAL.

Now MAL is also trying to introduce its PALIO

PUNTO Recliner at TJC.

New developments for NANO Recliner & INDICA

Rotary Type are in progress.

THANKS