Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Seats with body modifications
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-17
2001-05-01
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Seats with body modifications
C296S065010, C297S216100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06224132
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle seat assembly for use in a motor vehicle and more particularly to seat assemblies of the type utilized in vans, sports vehicles and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The nature of vans, sports utility vehicles and the other vehicles similar thereto is that it is frequently desirable for the user to convert the space within the back of the vehicle from a seat accommodating space to a cargo accommodating space. This situation arises more often in vans than in most other types of motor vehicles meant primarily as a transportation vehicle due to the suitability of vans for the transport of cargo. In order to convert the seat accommodating space into a cargo accommodating space it becomes necessary to handle the seat assembly.
An important factor concerning the ease of handling the seat assembly is its weight. Weight reduction, however, cannot be achieved by sacrificing the strength of the seat to adequately protect the occupant in an emergency situation. There exists a need to provide a seat assembly which will more effectively balance the ease of handling by weight reduction and the need to provide sufficient strength to protect the occupant.
One prior art reference, U.S. Pat. No. 2,582,687, proposes a manner for mounting a vehicle seat for movement to a storage position within the interior of the vehicle. The '687 patent discloses a motor vehicle having a seat assembly in the rear compartment thereof which is moveable from an operative position wherein it can receive occupants seated thereon and a storage position wherein both the seat back assembly and the seat cushion assembly are unfolded in an extended manner and supported alongside the roof of the vehicle. The seat back assembly and the seat cushion assembly of the '687 patent are slidably mounted on a set of guide tracks which allow the seat assembly to slide upward along the rear wall of the vehicle to an unfolded position alongside the roof. Such a manner of mounting, however, does not provide a desirable balance between weight and strength.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to satisfy the need expressed above. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, this objective is obtained by providing a vehicle seat assembly which achieves such desirable advantages. The present invention is a vehicle seat assembly for use in a motor vehicle having an interior space defined by structure including a bottom floor, transversely spaced side walls, and an upper roof defining an interior space therein within which the vehicle seat assembly can be mounted. The vehicle seat assembly comprises a seat cushion assembly having a seat cushion frame structure. The seat cushion assembly is constructed and arranged to be mounted within the interior space of the motor vehicle in an operative position wherein an occupant can be seated thereon. A seat back assembly has a lightweight seat back frame structure. The seat back assembly is constructed and arranged to be mounted within the interior space of the motor vehicle in an operative position to support the back of an occupant seated on the seat cushion assembly.
The seat back frame structure includes elongated transversely spaced frame members constructed and arranged to be connected with the interior structure of the motor vehicle at upper portions thereof and extend downwardly therefrom when the seat back assembly is in the operative position thereof. The seat back frame structure is associated with the seat cushion frame structure to form a cushion associated seat frame structure disposed below upper portions of said transversely spaced frame members when the seat cushion assembly and seat back assembly are in the operative positions thereof.
The cushion associated seat frame structure is constructed and arranged to be connected with and extend between lower portions of the side walls of the motor vehicle when said seat cushion assembly and seat back assembly are in the respective operative positions thereof. The cushion associated frame structure is also constructed and arranged so that force applied thereto by an occupant during conditions of sudden acceleration or deceleration are resisted by the cushion associated frame structure by virtue of the connection thereof with the side walls of the motor vehicle.
In such a seat assembly according to the principles of the present invention, it is preferable that the seat cushion assembly and seat back assembly are disposed in spaced vertical relation to the floor of the motor vehicle when in the respective operative positions thereof. To ensure that the forces applied to the seat assembly are transmitted to the side walls of the vehicle without unnecessarily increasing the weight of the cushion associated frame structure, the cushion associated frame structure includes an elongated tensile structure constructed and arranged to be connected with and extend between the side walls of the motor vehicle when the seat cushion assembly and seat back assembly are in the respective operative positions thereof. The cushion associated frame structure is constructed and arranged such that force applied to the cushion associated frame structure caused by an occupant during conditions of sudden acceleration or deceleration results in bending of the cushion associated frame structure within the elastic limit of the material thereof. The tensile structure is constructed and arranged such that the aforesaid bending of the cushion associated frame structure applies tension to the tensile structure when connected between the side walls of the motor vehicle to thereby resist further bending of the cushion associated frame structure caused by the occupant during condition of sudden acceleration or deceleration.
The broadest aspects of the present invention may be used in various kinds of vehicle seat assemblies. For example, the principles of the present invention may be used in the seat assembly which can be removed or rolled out of the rear of the van, an example of which is disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/067,497, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated into the present application by reference.
It is preferable that the vehicle seat assembly of the present invention can be manipulated so that the seat cushion assembly and seat back assembly can be stored in storage positions within the interior of the vehicle. It is an objective of the present invention to provide a seat assembly embodying the broad principles of the present invention described above wherein the seat cushion assembly is moveably mounted to the seat back assembly such that the seat cushion assembly can be moved when the seat back assembly is in the operative position thereof to a folded position with respect to the seat back assembly wherein the seat cushion assembly is disposed alongside the seat back assembly.
The transversely spaced frame members of the seat back frame structure are constructed and arranged to be pivotally attached to the interior structure of the motor vehicle at the upper portions thereof such that the seat cushion assembly can be moved to the folded position thereof alongside the seat back assembly and thereafter the seat back assembly together with the seat cushion assembly can be swung upwards to be retained in respective storage positions wherein the seat cushion assembly and seat back assembly are disposed alongside the roof of the motor vehicle in vertically spaced relation to the floor of the motor vehicle.
Preferably, the cushion associated frame structure is constructed and arranged to establish a connection with the side walls of the motor vehicle as the seat cushion assembly is moved from the folded position thereof to the operative position thereof after the seat back assembly has been swung downwards to the operative position thereof to thereby retain the seat cushion assembly and seat back assembly in the respective operative positions thereof.
Additionally, a yieldable cushio
Coletta Lori L.
Dayoan D. Glenn
Howard & Howard
Magna Seating Systems Inc.
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