Lateral slide pickup truck rear seat

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9873354-B2
Application number	US-201514974297-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2015
Priority date	Dec 19, 2014
Publication date	Jan 23, 2018
Grant date	Jan 23, 2018

Abstract

A stowable vehicle seat and seat arrangement are provided for a vehicle having a vehicle floor. The arrangement includes a first outboard seat with a seat base, a vehicle floor connection and a backrest connected to the seat base. A second outboard seat includes a seat base, a vehicle floor connection and a backrest and a lateral guide rail for lateral movement. The stowable seat includes a seat base, a backrest, a floor connection and a linkage between the seat base, the floor connection and the backrest for movement from a seating position blocking lateral movement of the second outboard seat to a stowage position in which the second outboard seat is moveable laterally along the lateral guideway to a position directly adjacent to the first outboard seat.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle seat for a vehicle having a forward direction corresponding to a travel direction and an opposite rearward direction, the vehicle seat comprising:
a seat base;
a seat backrest;
a seat vehicle floor connection fixed to a vehicle floor, the seat vehicle floor connection having a forward most front clearance profile; and
a seat base and seat backrest linkage arrangement providing a connection between the seat base, the seat vehicle floor connection and the seat backrest for coordinating movement of the seat base and the seat backrest from a vehicle seat seating position, with the seat base extending forward from the seat backrest and extending forward of the forward most front clearance profile of the seat vehicle floor connection, to a stowed position with the seat base and the seat backrest fully rearward of the forward most front clearance profile of the seat vehicle floor connection in the stowed position, wherein:
the vehicle seat is a center seat with outboard seats on each lateral side;
in the seating position the center seat blocks a lateral movement of one of the outboard seats along a lateral guide rail, to a center seat stowed position, with the center seat connected to the vehicle floor; and
in the stowed position the center seat provides clearance so as to not block a lateral movement of the one of the outboard seats along the lateral guide rail, whereby with the center seat in the center seat stowed position, the one of the outboard seats is moveable laterally along the lateral guide rail to a position directly adjacent to another of the outboard seats.

2. A vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein:
the seat backrest includes a right side link part and a left side link part, the right side link part and the left side link part each comprising a first link part pivot and a second link part pivot;
the seat vehicle floor connection comprises a left side floor bracket and a right side floor bracket, each fixed to a vehicle cabin floor, the left side floor bracket and the right side floor bracket each having a first floor bracket pivot and a second floor bracket pivot; and
the seat base and backrest linkage arrangement comprises a right side linkage arrangement and a left side linkage arrangement and each linkage arrangement comprises a first center link connected to the first link part pivot and connected to the first floor bracket pivot and a second center link connected to the second link part pivot and the second floor bracket pivot, whereby the first center link and the second center link, the respective right side link part or the left side link part and the respective right side floor bracket or left side floor bracket, form a four bar linkage whereby pivoting of the first center link and the second center link relative to the respective right side floor bracket or left side floor bracket moves the seat backrest and changes a backrest angle from the vehicle seat seating position to a more upright stowed position, wherein the backrest angle in the stowed position is closer to vertical than the backrest angle in the vehicle seat seating position.

3. A vehicle seat according to claim 2 , wherein:
the left and right side floor brackets each have a seat base pivot;
the seat base includes left side and right side pivot brackets each pivotably connected to the respective seat base pivot and each including a follower pin;
the first center link comprises a cam slot and the follower pin extends into the cam slot and moves in the cam slot relative to the first center link during pivoting of the first center link, whereby the pivoting of the first center link relative to the floor bracket moves the seat base from the vehicle seat seating position to an upright stowed position.

4. A vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein:
the seat vehicle floor connection comprises left and right side floor brackets fixed to a vehicle cabin floor;
the left and right side floor brackets each have a frontmost contour defining an upright stowed position front clearance profile; and
in the stowed position, each of the seat backrest, the seat base and the seat backrest linkage arrangement is disposed rearwardly, with respect to a vehicle direction of travel, of the front clearance profile.

5. A seat arrangement for a vehicle having a forward direction corresponding to a travel direction and an opposite rearward direction, the seat arrangement comprising:
a first outboard seat comprising a first outboard seat base, a first outboard seat base to vehicle floor connection and a first outboard backrest connected to the first outboard seat base;
a second outboard seat comprising a second outboard seat base, a second outboard seat base to vehicle floor connection and a second outboard backrest connected to the second outboard seat base, the second outboard seat base to vehicle floor connection comprising a lateral guide rail arrangement, guiding a lateral movement of the second outboard seat with respect to a vehicle floor and supporting the second outboard seat with respect to the vehicle floor in at least two fixed positions;
a stowable seat comprising a stowable seat base, a stowable seat backrest, a stowable seat vehicle floor connection having a forward most front clearance profile, a stowable seat base and stowable seat backrest linkage arrangement providing a connection between the stowable seat base, the stowable seat vehicle floor connection and the stowable seat backrest for coordinating movement of the stowable seat base and the stowable seat backrest from a seating position, with the stowable seat connected to the vehicle floor, with the stowable seat base extending forward from the stowable seat backrest and extending forward of the forward most front clearance profile of the seat vehicle floor connection and with the stowable seat blocking a lateral movement of the second outboard seat along the lateral guide rail, to a stowed position, with the stowable seat connected to the vehicle floor, with the stowable seat base and the stowable seat backrest disposed rearward of the forward most front clearance profile of the seat vehicle floor connection and with the stowable seat not blocking a lateral movement of the second outboard seat along the lateral guide rail, whereby with the stowable seat in the stowable seat stowed position, the second outboard seat is moveable laterally along the lateral guide rail to a position directly adjacent to the first outboard seat.

6. A seat arrangement according to claim 5 , wherein:
the stowable seat vehicle floor connection comprises left and right side floor brackets fixed to a vehicle cabin floor;
the left and right side floor brackets each have a frontmost, with respect to the direction of travel, contour defining an upright stowed position front clearance profile; and
in the stowed position, each of the stowable seat backrest, the stowable seat base and the stowable seat backrest linkage arrangement is disposed rearwardly, with respect to a vehicle direction of travel, of the upright stowed position front clearance profile;
the second outboard seat base to vehicle floor connection further comprises left and right side riser brackets connecting the lateral guide rail arrangement to the second outboard seat base and the second outboard backrest;
the left and right side riser brackets each have a rearmost contour defining a rear clearance profile; and
the front clearance profile is complementary to the rear clearance profile whereby the left and right side floor brackets do not block the left and right side riser brackets with the lateral movement of the second outboard seat along the lateral guide rail with the stowable seat in the stowed position.

7. A seat arrangement according to claim 5 , wher

Assignees

• Johnson Controls Tech Co

Inventors

• Poulos Yannis
• Macleod Dawn
• Michalak Eric
• Soliven Reinier
• Mayer Sylviane
• Feiler Bradford V
• White Steven E
• Korlahalli Prasanna
• Beranek John M

Classifications

• B60N2/12 Primary

  slidable and tiltable · CPC title

• B60N2/305

  the cushion being hinged on the vehicle frame · CPC title

• B60N2/065

  Rear seats · CPC title

• B60N2/3011

  the back-rest being hinged on the cushion, e.g. "portefeuille movement" · CPC title

• B60N2/10

  tiltable (B60N2/12 {, B60N2/2875} take precedence) · CPC title