Vehicle seat mounted angled desk top

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9758064-B1
Application number	US-201615227130-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Aug 3, 2016
Priority date	Aug 3, 2016
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

A vehicle seating assembly includes a vehicle desk operably coupled to a rear portion of a seatback. The vehicle desk is movable between at least a stowed position and a use position. A hinge assembly includes a finger-grip rotator knob assembly and a moveable element, such as a working surface or desk. The moveable element is operably coupled to, and rotatable with, the finger-grip rotator knob assembly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle seating assembly comprising:
a seatback operably coupled to a base by a pitch joint capable of adjusting the seatback relative to the base about a pitch axis to a user-selected pitch angle; and
a vehicle desk operably coupled to a rear portion of the seatback and capable of rotational motion about a hinge assembly to a use position, wherein the hinge assembly comprises a plurality of recesses each having a corresponding locking pin.

2. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 1 , wherein the hinge assembly is manually transitioned from a stowed position to the use position.

3. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 2 , wherein the use position is rotated at least forty-five degrees from the stowed position.

4. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 1 , wherein the hinge assembly comprises a spring-loaded assembly having protrusions that fit into receiving portions to define meshing points.

5. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 4 , wherein the meshing points facilitate locked configurations of the hinge assembly in fixed angular increments.

6. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 1 , wherein the hinge assembly is operably coupled to the vehicle desk at an upper corner of the vehicle desk proximate the user.

7. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one drawer in the vehicle desk.

8. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one recessed area in the vehicle desk that can be used to hold an item the user wishes to keep within reach.

9. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle desk extends substantially beyond the seatback when in the use position.

10. A vehicle seating assembly comprising:
a seatback operably coupled to a base by a pitch joint capable of adjusting the seatback relative to the base about a pitch axis to a user-selected pitch angle; and
a vehicle desk operably coupled to a rear portion of the seatback by a hinge assembly that suspends the vehicle desk above the seatback such that the vehicle desk is free of direct contact with the rear portion when in a stowed position.

11. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 10 , wherein the vehicle desk rotates without contacting any of a vehicle door assembly, a dashboard assembly, and an instrument panel.

12. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 10 , wherein the vehicle desk remains locked in a use position without user interaction after initial setup.

13. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 10 , wherein the rotational motion is facilitated by the hinge assembly, which is manually transitioned from a stowed position to a use position.

14. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 13 , wherein the use position is rotated at least forty-five degrees from the stowed position.

15. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 13 , wherein the hinge assembly comprises a spring-loaded assembly having protrusions that fit into receiving portions to define meshing points.

16. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 15 , wherein the meshing points facilitate locked configurations of the hinge assembly in fixed angular increments.

17. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 13 , wherein the hinge assembly is operably coupled to the vehicle desk at an upper corner of the vehicle desk proximate the user.

18. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 10 , wherein the vehicle desk extends substantially beyond the seatback when in the use position.

19. A vehicle seating assembly comprising:
a vehicle desk operably coupled to a rear portion of a seatback by a hinge assembly, wherein the vehicle desk is suspended above the seatback by the hinge assembly, and wherein the hinge assembly comprises a plurality of recesses each having a corresponding locking pin, and wherein the locking pins are simultaneously actuated by a pressure-actuated lock release.

20. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 19 , wherein the pressure-actuated lock release further comprises:
a plurality of lock release protrusions that correspond with the locking pins such that the lock release protrusions actuate the locking pins between a raised position and a lowered position.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Dry Alan George
• Line Johnathan Andrew
• Kondrad Marcos Silva
• Preuss Kevin Wayne

Classifications

• B60N3/002

  of trays · CPC title

• B60N2/206 Primary

  to a position in which it can be used as a support for objects, e.g. as a tray · CPC title

• F16C2326/08

  Vehicle seats, e.g. in linear movable seats · CPC title

• F16C11/12

  incorporating flexible connections, e.g. leaf springs · CPC title

• F16C11/10

  Arrangements for locking · CPC title