Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Enclosed compartment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-04
2001-04-17
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Enclosed compartment
C296S066000, C296S069000, C296S065090
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217096
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automobile including front seats, a foldable rear seat disposed rearward of the front seats and a luggage receiving space disposed rearward of the rear seat, and more particularly to a passenger compartment sealing structure for such an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known from the official gazettes of Japanese Unexamined Patent (Kokai) Publication Nos. Hei. 8-85344 and Hei. 9-86245 that in an automobile having front seats and a rear seat, when the rear seat is folded down to a position just behind the back of the front seat backs, a large volume of luggage receiving space is created rearward of the rear seat so folded down. With a foldable rear seat like this, it is possible, as required, to deploy the rear seat so that passengers can be seated thereon or to fold it down to receive a large-sized piece of luggage, thus improving the convenience to the user of such a vehicle.
Now, in an automobile constructed in such a manner as described above, if a fixed bulkhead is provided between a passenger compartment and a luggage receiving space, the bulkhead separates a luggage receiving space created when the rear seat is folded down from the existing luggage receiving space rearward of the rear seat, and this causes a problem that the luggage receiving space so created helps in no way to contain large-sized luggage in the interior of the vehicle. Further, without any bulkhead provided between the luggage receiving space made open to the outside of the vehicle and the passenger compartment, there is caused a problem that road dust and/or rain reaches the interior of the passenger compartment, or the odor of an article received in the luggage receiving space penetrates the interior of the passenger compartment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was made in these circumstances, and an object thereof is to reconcile a loading capacity for large-sized luggage and a tight closing capability for a passenger compartment in an automobile provided with a luggage receiving space rearward of a foldable rear seat.
In order to attain the aforementioned goal, a passenger compartment sealing structure for an automobile comprises a front seat disposed in a passenger compartment, a foldable rear seat disposed rearward of the front seat and a luggage receiving space disposed rearward of the rear seat. The rear seat is provided with a partition such as a window glass that can be raised and lowered when the rear seat is folded down so as to be positioned just behind the back of the front seat. The passenger compartment is separated from the luggage receiving space by raising the partition into abutment with a lower side of a roof.
According to the above construction, the number of passengers can be increased by deploying the foldable rear seat in a seating position, while the luggage receiving space can be expanded so as to receive large-sized luggage by folding the foldable rear seat toward the front seat. In addition, not only is it possible to tightly close the passenger compartment so as to prevent the penetration thereinto of rain, dust, noise, running wind, odor or the like but also to enhance the air-conditioning efficiency by raising the partition from the folded rear seat so as to bring it into abutment with the lower side of the roof.
In addition, the rear seat may comprise a seat cushion constructed so as to be selectively erected around a front edge portion thereof and a seat back constructed so as to overlap the front of the seat cushion so erected, and the partition is raised and lowered through an opening formed in an upper side of the seat cushion so erected.
According to the above construction, since the seat back overlaps the front of the erected seat cushion, the rear seat can be folded compact, and moreover, since the partition is provided with the seat cushion in the interior thereof, there is no need of a special space for receiving the partition therein, thereby making it possible to utilize the space effectively.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2632668 (1953-03-01), Keller
patent: 3214211 (1965-10-01), Setina
patent: 5605368 (1997-02-01), Noma et al.
patent: 5702143 (1997-12-01), Shimazaki
patent: 885344 (1996-04-01), None
patent: 986245 (1997-03-01), None
Gomi Tetsuya
Koiwa Takeshi
Kumakura Kazuyuki
Shigematsu Yasuto
Tashiro Kazue
Blackman William D.
Carrier Joseph P.
Carrier Blackman & Associates P.C.
Dayoan D. Glenn
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
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