Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Seats with body modifications
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-29
2001-02-06
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Seats with body modifications
C296S065140, C296S069000, C297S331000, C297S378120
Reexamination Certificate
active
06183033
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an automobile seat whose attitude is freely changeable from an ordinary state to a flat state.
Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. H7-27239 discloses a seat that is freely changeable from an ordinary state to a flat state. A seat cushion is forwardly rotated about a front end supporting fulcrum and moved to a substantially horizontal inverted position. A seat back is forwardly inclined about a lower end supporting fulcrum and moved to a substantially horizontal fall-down position. In the flat state, a reverse surface of the seat cushion at the inverted position and a rear surface of the seat back at the fall-down position form the flat surfaces that are substantially at the same height level.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
However, in the above-described conventional technique, the seat cushion is forwardly inverted about the front end supporting fulcrum. Therefore, the seat in the flat state forwardly protrudes by the entire length of the seat cushion. For this reason, it is difficult to apply the seat to an automobile having no sufficient space in front of the seat.
An object of the present invention is to provide an automobile seat which even when no sufficient space exists in front of the seat can be changed to a flat state.
To attain the above object, an automobile seat according to the present invention is composed of a seat cushion, seat back, and supporting element. The seat cushion supports the hip portion of a vehicle occupant at its normal position. The seat cushion is disposed so that the seat cushion may be freely movable while being forwardly rotated about a front end supporting fulcrum from the normal position to an inverted position. The seat cushion has a reverse surface which is made substantially horizontal at its inverted position. The seat back supports the back of the vehicle occupant at its normal position. The seat back is disposed so that the seat back may be freely movable while being forwardly fallen down from the normal position to a fall-down position. The seat back has a rear surface which is made substantially horizontal at its fall-down position. The reverse surface of the seat cushion at the inverted position and the rear surface of the seat back at the fall-down position are located at substantially the same height level. By the movements of the seat cushion and seat back to their respective inverted position and fall-down position, the seat has its attitude changed from its ordinary state to its flat state. The supporting element fixes the seat cushion and seat back to an automobile body. The supporting element supports the seat cushion and seat back so that the seat cushion and seat back may be freely backwardly slidable from a first position for the ordinary state to a second position for the flat state.
When changing the seat from its ordinary state to its flat state for the purpose of a break or quiet sleep or of widely using the interior of an automobile compartment, the seat cushion and seat back are slid from the first position to the second backward position and are then moved to the inverted position and fall-down position to thereby dispose the reverse surface of the seat cushion and the rear surface of the seat back in substantially the same plane. Therefore, the amount of forward protrusion of the seat cushion at the inverted position is decreased. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain a seat that can be applied to an automobile having no sufficient space in front of the seat.
The supporting element may be composed of a fixed rail fixed to the floor of an automobile body and a movable rail for supporting the seat cushion and seat back, and the movable rail may be freely slidably engaged with the fixed rail.
In the above-described construction, by moving the movable rail, the seat cushion and seat back are moved from the first positions to the second positions.
The seat may further comprise a seat frame for supporting the seat cushion and seat back, the seat frame may comprise the front end supporting fulcrum and rear end supporting fulcrum, and the supporting element may support the seat frame so that the seat frame may be freely backwardly slidable from a first position for the ordinary state to a second position for the flat state.
In the above-described construction, by moving the seat frame, the seat cushion and seat back are moved from the first position to the second position.
Further, the supporting element may be composed of a fixed rail fixed to the floor of an automobile body and rollers provided on the seat frame, and the rollers may be freely slidably engaged with the fixed rail.
Also, the rollers may protrude laterally from both sides of the seat frame.
The seat may further comprise a first lock mechanism for unlockably locking the seat cushion at the normal position thereof, a second lock mechanism for unlockably locking the seat back at the normal position thereof, a first unlocking mechanism for unlocking the locked state of the first lock mechanism with the movement of the seat cushion toward the second position, and a second unlocking mechanism for unlocking the locked state of the second lock mechanism with the movement of the seat back toward the second position.
According to the above-described construction, when retreating the seat frame up to the second position, the locked states of the first and second lock mechanisms are automatically released. Accordingly, the operation for releasing the locked states of the first and second lock mechanisms becomes unnecessary, with the result that the operating efficiency becomes high.
The seat frame may have a slide lock freely engageable with the fixed rail and an operating lever for moving the slide lock, and the slide lock having been engaged with the fixed rail may the seat frame to the fixed rail.
In the above-described construction, the seat frame is fixed to the first and second position by the slide lock. Further, by moving the operating lever, the engagement of the slide lock with the fixed rail is released, with the result that the seat frame becomes freely slidable.
In a case where the supporting element is composed of a fixed rail fixed to the floor of an automobile body and a movable rail for supporting the seat cushion and seat back and when the movable rail is freely slidably engaged with the fixed rail, the seat cushion may include, when the seat cushion is located at its normal position, an intermediate supporting fulcrum located backwardly from the front end supporting fulcrum, and the intermediate supporting fulcrum is freely rotatably connected through a link to a fixed supporting fulcrum located backwardly from the intermediate supporting fulcrum and fixed to the floor of the automobile body.
Also, the fixed supporting fulcrum may be provided on the fixed rail.
In the above-described construction, when changing the seat from the ordinary state to the flat state, the seat cushion is moved to the inverted position and the seat back is moved to the fall-down position. When the seat cushion is moved while being rotated about the front end supporting fulcrum, the front end supporting fulcrum itself is backwardly moved using the fixed supporting fulcrum as a basis. The amount of forward protrusion of the seat cushion at the inverted position is decreased by the length which is twice as large as that corresponding to the spacing between the front end supporting fulcrum and fixed supporting fulcrum as compared with that when the seat cushion is in the ordinary state. Accordingly, the seat has a wider range of applicability to an automobile having no sufficient space in front thereof. Also, the position in the back-and-forth direction of the seat is fixed by the intermediate supporting fulcrum of the seat cushion being connected through a link to the fixed supporting fulcrum. For this reason, a lock mechanism for regulating the position in the back-and-forth direction of the seat becomes unnecessary. This is advantageous for a decrease in the weight of an automobile body as wel
Arai Tomiji
Nakane Katsunori
Dayoan D. Glenn
Engle Patricia
Ikeda Bussan Co. Ltd.
Nath Gary M.
Nath & Associates
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