Chairs and seats – Plural related seats – Movement of one seat effects storage of either seat
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-16
2001-12-25
Brown, Peter R. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Plural related seats
Movement of one seat effects storage of either seat
C297S378120, C297S411320
Reexamination Certificate
active
06332647
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seat for vehicle in which a seat back can be folded onto a seat cushion, and more particularly to a center-folding seat for vehicle in which the seat back can be tilted with respect to the seat cushion by means of a reclining mechanism comprising a base member secured to the seat cushion, and a rotating arm rotatably supported by the base member, and in which the seat back can be folded onto the seat cushion by means of a center-folding mechanism which comprises an arm plate, rotatably supported on the rotating end side of the above rotating arm and attached to each frame of both sides of the seat back.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a seat for vehicle, in which a seat back including a child seat or an arm rest or the like therein can be tilted to a seat cushion, and more particularly to a seat for vehicle in which the seat back is attached to the seat cushion so as to be capable of being tilted by means of a reclining mechanism comprising a base member secured to the seat cushion, and a rotating arm rotatably supported by the base member, and in which the rotating arm is rotatably provided with a bracket to be connected to the child seat or the arm rest so that the child seat or the arm rest arm rest can be mounted within the seat back.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG.
1
and
FIG. 2
show a conventional center-folding seat for vehicle of this type which has been proposed. As shown in
FIG. 1
, according to this conventional seat, a center-folding seat
301
comprises a seat back
303
attached to a seat cushion
302
, provided on the floor surface of the vehicle. A reclining mechanism
304
, generally comprising a rotating arm
304
b
rotatably supported by a base member
304
a
, which is provided on the seat cushion
302
side, enables the seat back
303
to be reclined.
The center-folding seat
301
further comprises an arm plate
305
which is rotatably provided on the rotating end side of the rotating arm
304
b
. The seat back
303
is secured to this arm plate
305
.
Therefore, the seat back
303
can be adjusted to a predetermined reclining angle by operating an operation lever
304
c
so as to cancel the lock between the base member
304
a
and the rotating arm
304
b
, whereby a built-in spring (not shown in the diagram) turns the rotating arm
304
b
in a counter-clockwise direction, as shown in FIG.
1
. This causes the seat back
303
to collapse forward, however when the operation lever
304
c
is released at the predetermined reclining angle, the seat back
303
becomes fixed in that position.
Next, as shown in
FIG. 2
, in order to fold over (hereinafter “center-fold”) the seat back
303
, so as to enable the back face
303
a
of the seat back
303
to be used as a table, or alternatively, to enable more space to be freed within the vehicle in order to store luggage, the lock between the arm plate
305
and the rotating arm
304
b
is cancelled so that the arm plate
305
is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction with a rotate support point
305
a
as the base as shown in FIG.
1
. Consequently, the seat back
303
is also folded over to the seat cushion
302
side, thereby becoming center-folded. The back face
303
a
of the seat back
303
can now be used as a table, or the space behind the center-folding seat
301
can be effectively used to store luggage.
However, when the seat back
303
of the conventional center-folding seat
301
is folded forward to the center-folded state and used as a table or for placing luggage thereabove, since the arm plate
305
is rotatably supported by the rotating arm
304
b
, the rotating arm
304
b
tilts at the rear (for instance, in a case when the seat back
303
has been center-folded to a deeply collapsed state), though it is desirable that the back face
303
a
of the seat back
303
maintains a horizontal position. Therefore, when the seat back
303
is center-folded, the back face
303
a
of the seat back
303
tilts at the rear end instead of keeping a horizontal position. This results in a disadvantage of inconvenience when the center-folded seat back
303
is to be used as a table or for placing luggage thereon.
Furthermore, when the seat back
303
is center-folded as shown in
FIG. 2
, the seat back
303
is supported only by the strength of the reclining mechanism
304
. Therefore, there is a problem that, when a large load is applied on the center-folded seat back
303
, shaking and the like are caused, leading to poor stability and inconvenience.
On the other hand,
FIG. 3
shows a seat for vehicle comprising a reclining mechanism, a center-folding mechanism and a child seat, which is contained within the seat back. In the diagram, a center-folding seat
501
for vehicle comprises a seat back
503
, capable of being tilted onto a seat cushion
502
by means of a reclining mechanism
504
. The reclining mechanism
504
enables the seat back
503
to be folded over onto the upper face of the seat cushion
502
. The seat back
503
contains a child seat
506
which is set in place by being collapsed forward.
And, as shown in
FIG. 4
, the above reclining mechanism
504
comprises a base member
504
a
, attached to the seat cushion
502
, a rotating arm
504
b
, rotatably supported by the base member
504
a
, and an arm plate
505
, constituting a center-folding mechanism, connected to the rotating arm
504
b
. In other words, the seat back
503
can be adjusted to a predetermined reclining angle by operating an operation lever
504
c
so as to cancel the lock between the base member
504
a
and the rotating arm
504
b
. Releasing the operation lever
504
c
, as a result, the basemember
504
a
and the rotating arm
504
b
becomes locked in that position, thereby locking the seat back
503
to the seat cushion
502
at the predetermined reclining angle.
Furthermore, when freeing more space or the like inside the vehicle, the seat back
503
can be collapsed Forward around a rotation center
505
a
of an arm plate
505
, secured to both sides of the seat back
503
, and stored over the upper face of the seat cushion
502
.
However, it is a disadvantage of the conventional center-folding seat
501
that, since the child seat
506
can be pulled in or out irrespective of the reclining angle of the seat back
503
, it is even possible to use the child seat
506
, for instance, at an inappropriate reclining angle. The unsatisfactory seating position in such a case requires the set position of the child seat
506
to be corrected again, which is not preferable with respect to convenience.
And, as shown in
FIG. 5
, there is a further disadvantage that the lock of the reclining mechanism
504
may sometimes be inadvertently cancelled while the child seat
506
is being used, leaving room for improvement as regards safety and protection of the child seat
506
.
FIG. 6
shows a case envisaged in which the center-folding mechanism has been mistakenly activated while the child seat
506
is being used, allowing the seat back
503
to move. Consequently, the conventional center-folding seat
501
has a low level of comfort.
Furthermore, considering a seat type having a movable arm rest provided within the seat back
503
in addition to the child seat
506
, it has been pointed about that there is a possibility of the arm rest being used at an unnatural reclining angle. Moreover, when the seat back
503
collapses forward due to the reclining mechanism
504
being unlocked while the arm rest is being used, or when the center-folding mechanism has been mistakenly operated, in a case where the seat back
503
has been folded over and stored, the arm rest will be damaged.
The problems described above also apply to a type of seat for vehicle in which the center-folding mechanism has been removed. In such a case, when the reclining mechanism
504
is unlocked while the child seat
506
is being used, the level of comfort is lowered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been achieved with such points in
Ikeda Noriyuki
Yoshida Tomonori
Berkowitz Marvin C.
Brown Peter R.
Ikeda Bussan Co. Ltd.
Nath Gary M.
Nath & Associates PLLC
LandOfFree
Seat for vehicle does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Seat for vehicle, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Seat for vehicle will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2593189