Patent ID: 8317255
Filing Date: 2012-11-27
Classification: B60N

Abstract:
1. A vehicle seat assembly comprising: a seat disposed in a passenger compartment of a vehicle; and a side support for supporting a side portion of a torso of an occupant seated in the seat, the seat having a seat cushion, a seatback capable of moving between an erected, upright position and a forwardly-folded, collapsed position relative to the seat cushion, and a seatback support mechanism for supporting the seatback in a foldable and erectable manner, wherein the side support is a separate trim member that is structurally independent from the seat and fixed to the vehicle body at a position between a lateral surface of the seatback and a vehicle body inside wall defining the passenger compartment, the seatback support mechanism includes a support shaft extending from the lateral surface of the seatback transversely outwardly of the vehicle, a bracket, mounted on at least one of the seat cushion and the vehicle body, for supporting the support shaft so as to be rotatable in a front-and-rear direction of the seatback, and a spring, provided between the support shaft and the bracket, for urging the seatback to move in a forwardly-folding direction relative to the side support, and the bracket and the spring are positioned near a rear surface of the side support.