Chairs and seats – Movable bottom – Interconnected with back for relative concurrent movement
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-17
2001-03-13
Brown, Peter R. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Movable bottom
Interconnected with back for relative concurrent movement
C297S015000, C297S378120
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199951
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to seats and, more particular, to vehicle seats.
2. Description of the Art
Seats found in vehicles, such as automobiles, trucks, etc., are frequently provided with a seat back which is pivotal from a raised position to a lowered position with respect to the accompanying seat bottom.
Vehicle seats, particularly those found in minivans, are frequently releasibly mountable in the vehicle so as to enable their removal when it is desired to use the floor of the vehicle as a cargo space.
It is also known to provide vehicle seats in which the seat back and/or the entire seat back and seat bottom are pivotally movable from a normal seating position in which the seat back extends angularly upward from the seat bottom to a collapsed, lowered position wherein the seat back folds over the bottom and the seat bottom itself may pivot from the seating position to a lowered position, either forward or rearward of the seating, so as to lower the overall height of the collapsed seat and to enable the back surface of the seat back to be used for supporting cargo within the vehicle.
While the removable seats operate effectively in so far as enabling the seat to be folded and removed from the vehicle, storage of the removed seat can be a problem, particularly in urban areas where a vehicle owner may not have a garage readily available for storing the removed seat. The weight of the seat, which is relatively light in terms of enabling the seat to be easily removed and reinstalled in the vehicle, nevertheless, can become problematic when it is necessary to carry the seat a considerable distance to a storage area away from the vehicle or up flights of stairs to owners apartment.
Further, the collapsible seats, while being able to be lowered to a position wherein the seat back does not extend appreciably above the underlying seat support surface or vehicle floor, do not provide for any change in the height of the seat back or seat bottom so as to reduce the overall stack height of the folded seat back and seat bottom itself.
Seats are frequently provided with adjustable bladders or other shape changing supports for varying the contour of the seat bottom and/or seat back to provide occupant comfort. However, the amount of movement provided by such shape changing devices or “lumbar supports” is minimal. Further, such shape changing devices merely change the contour of the surface of the seat and do not appreciably change the overall height of the outer surface of the seat bottom and/or seat back with respect to its opposed back surface.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a collapsible seat for particular use in vehicles which can be folded to a minimum stack height when in a collapsed or lowered position. It would also be desirable to provide a collapsible seat in which a seat back can be folded over a seat bottom with a minimum stack height and the entire seat bottom and seat back pivotally lowered to a collapsed position enabling the back surface of the seat back to act as a cargo carrying surface generally in line with the vehicle floor. It would also be desirable to provide a collapsible seat wherein the stack height of the seat back and/or seat bottom is automatically changed as the seat back is pivoted with respect to the seat bottom. It would also be desirable to provide a seat in which the seat bottom is automatically pivoted between the lowered and elevated positions concurrent with pivotal movement of the seat back relative to the seat bottom. It would also be desirable to provide a collapsible seat which can be collapsed to a lowered position which has a minimal stack height so as to fit within a receptacle formed in a vehicle floor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a collapsible seat which is movable between a deployed, elevated, seating position to a collapsed, storage position wherein the seat has a minimal stack height within collapsed, storage position.
For all embodiments, the collapsible seat of the present invention includes a seat back pivotally disposed with respect to a seat bottom. Linkages are mounted on opposite sides of a seat bottom frame supporting a seat bottom cushion and control pivotal movement of the seat bottom between a first, collapsed, lowered position, and a second, elevated, seating position.
According to one unique feature of the present invention, means are provided for converting pivotal movement of the seat back with respect to the seat bottom into operation of the linkages on the seat bottom to pivot the seat bottom between lowered and elevated positions concurrently with pivotal movement of the seat back between lowered and elevated positions.
According to another unique feature, shape changing means are carried in at least one of the seat bottom and the seat back and are operable for changing the shape of the seat bottom or seat back between a first, low height configuration when the seat bottom or seat back is in the collapsed, lowered position and a second, elevated seating position. Preferably, the shape changing means is coupled to the means for converting pivotal movement of the seat back into concurrent pivotal movement of the seat bottom such that the shape and/or overall height of seat back or seat bottom is lowered to a minimal height at the same time the seat back is pivoted to an overlaying, collapsed position over the seat bottom and the seat bottom is pivoted to the collapsed, lowered position. Conversely, the shape or height of the seat back or seat bottom is changed to the normal seating configuration when the seat back is pivoted to the elevated position angularly disposed with respect to the seat bottom and the seat bottom itself is pivoted from a lowered to the seating position.
Since the overall height of the seat back and seat bottom of the collapsible seat of the present invention can be minimized when the seat back and seat bottom are in the collapsed, lowered position, the collapsible seat of the present invention readily presents itself for compact storage in a receptacle mounted within a vehicle floor. This enables the back surface of the seat back to act as a cargo support surface generally in-line with the vehicle floor without requiring the entire seat to be removed from the interior of a vehicle.
In an alternate embodiment, the linkages carried on the seat bottom collapse into channel-like carriers so as to reduce the overall height of the collapsed seat back and seat bottom when the collapsible seat is in the lowered position. The carriers, in this embodiment, are removably mountable in cavities formed in a vehicle, such as cavities formed in the spaced vehicle frame rails. The carriers may be latched into the cavitied thereby enabling the entire collapsible seat of the present invention to be easily installed and removed from a vehicle. In one embodiment, a rear rotatable shaft is pivotally mounted below a rear edge of a seat bottom frame. At least one cam follower is mounted on each of the rear pivot means and fixed to the rear rotatable shaft for rotating the rear rotatable shaft in opposite directions upon opposed pivoting movement of the rear pivot means. A plurality of seat cushion support means or fingers are fixed on and extend from the rear rotatable shaft and support one end of seat cushion springs carrying the seat cushion itself.
A front rotatable shaft is also mounted between the front pivot means and connected to brackets fixedly mounted in each of the front pivot means for rotation upon pivotal movement of the front pivot means between elevated and storage positions. A plurality of fingers are also fixedly mounted on and extend from the front rotatable shaft. An upper shaft is fixed to each of the fingers and receives the other end of the seat support springs.
Upon pivotal movement of the front and rear pivot means between an elevated position and the collapsed, storage position, the front and rear rotatable shafts are simultaneously rotated in a direction causing the fingers on each of the front
Anderson Paul F.
Doll Brian C.
Poppeck Dean
Sharples Thomas M.
Zeile Kim
Brown Peter R.
Prefix Corporation
Young & Basile PC
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