Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Seats with body modifications
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-01
2001-11-20
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Seats with body modifications
C296S097230, C296S066000, C296S069000, C297S015000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318784
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the improvement of an automotive seat in which a seat back and a seat cushion are accommodated in a depressed portion provided in a floor of an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 8A
to
8
D are diagrams explaining a first operation of a conventional automotive seat.
In
FIG. 8A
, a conventional auto motive seat
100
is constructed such that a seat cushion
102
is rotatably mounted on a floor
101
of an automotive vehicle at a lower end of a rear portion thereof, that a seat back
103
is rotatably mounted on the seat cushion
102
at a lower end thereof, that a head restrain
104
is mounted on an upper end of the seat back
103
slidably and rotatably, and that a lid body
106
is mounted to a lower end of a front portion of the seat cushion
102
via hinge
105
.
In
FIG. 8B
, the seat back
103
is folded over the seat cushion
102
as indicated by an arrow b
1
, and the head restraint
104
is caused to rotate toward a seat cushion side as indicated by an arrow b
2
so that the head restraint
104
is folded over the seat cushion
102
.
In
FIG. 8C
, an integral body of the seat cushion
102
, the seat back
103
and the head restraint
104
formed by folding the seat back and the head restraint over the seat cushion is then caused to rotate toward the rear of the vehicle as indicated by an arrow c.
In
FIG. 8D
, the integral body of the seat cushion
102
, the seat back
103
and the head restraint
104
is accommodated in a depressed portion
101
a
provided in the floor
101
of the vehicle as indicated by an arrow d, and a space left in the depressed portion
101
a
is closed with the lid body
106
.
Namely, the automotive seat
100
is a seat constructed such that the seat cushion
102
and the seat back
103
are accommodated in the depressed portion
101
a
formed in the floor
101
of the vehicle.
FIG. 9
is a diagram explaining a second operation of the conventional automotive seat. The figure shows a state in which the automotive seat
100
is in use, and more specifically a state in which a passenger M is seated in the automotive seat
100
.
The automotive seat
100
includes the seat cushion
102
mounted on the floor
101
of the vehicle, the seat back
103
mounted on the seat cushion
102
, the head restraint
104
mounted on the seat back
103
and the lid body
106
mounted on the seat cushion via the hinge
105
. Consequently, when the automotive seat
100
is in use, the lid body
106
is located at lower parts of the lower legs of the passenger M. If the lid body
106
flutters, for example, the lid body
106
is brought into contact with the legs of the passenger M, and this may cause a risk that the passenger M feels uncomfortable when this occurs.
FIG. 10
is a side view of the lid body of the conventional automotive seat, showing one example of the construction of the lid body
106
.
The lid body
106
comprises a lid main body
107
foldably mounted on the lower end of the front portion of a base portion
102
a
of the seat cushion
102
(refer to
FIG. 9
) via the hinge
105
and a cover
108
for covering the lid main body
107
and the hinge
105
. Since a plate-like member is used for the lid main body
107
, the weight of the lid body
106
is increased, which results in deterioration in operability when the automotive seat
102
is folded for accommodation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To this end, an object of the invention is to provide an automotive seat which can prevent the fluttering of a lid body when the seat is in use and facilitate the folding operation of the seat by preventing the increase in weight of the lid body.
With a view to attaining the above object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an automotive seat constructed such that a seat back is caused to fall down toward a seat cushion side, that the seat back and the seat cushion are caused to rotate toward the rear of an automotive vehicle about a support portion provided at the rear of a lower portion of the seat cushion, that the seat back and seat cushion are accommodated in a depressed portion provided in a floor of the vehicle, and a space left in the depressed portion is closed with a lid body provided at the front of the lower portion of the seat cushion. The lid body includes a first carpet extending from the front of a lower portion of the seat cushion and a second carpet integrally attached to the first carpet via a base material such that the first carpet forms a hinge.
The lid body is constituted by the first carpet extending from the front of the lower portion of the seat cushion and the second carpet integrally attached to the first carpet via a base material, whereby the weight of the lid is reduced.
The first carpet is made to function as a hinge, so that the mounting construction of the lid body is made simple, whereby the construction of the automotive seat is made simple.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an automotive seat as set forth in the first aspect of the invention, wherein the lid body is constructed to be retained on the floor with a surface fastener.
When the automotive seat is in use, the lid body is constructed so as to be retained to the floor with the surface fastener to thereby prevent the lid body from fluttering.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4519646 (1985-05-01), Leitermann et al.
patent: 4779917 (1988-10-01), Campbell et al.
patent: 4877282 (1989-10-01), Yamauchi
patent: 5269581 (1993-12-01), Odagaki et al.
patent: 5482346 (1996-01-01), Lesourd
patent: 5868451 (1999-02-01), Uno et al.
patent: 6196613 (2001-03-01), Arai
patent: 6231101 (2001-05-01), Kamida et al.
patent: 2 776 588 (1998-03-01), None
patent: 62-194948 (1987-08-01), None
patent: 11-198697-A (1999-07-01), None
German Office Action with English Translation, dated Jan. 30, 2001 , serial # 10059335.6-16.
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Pape Joseph D.
Patel Kiran B.
LandOfFree
Automotive seat does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Automotive seat, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Automotive seat will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2572126