Abstract:
A vehicle seat assembly for a motor vehicle is provided. The assembly includes a cushion section a back section pivotally interconnected. The assembly also includes a wheeled latch assembly that is connected to the cushion section. The wheeled latch assembly includes a seat member and a latch member pivotally interconnected and is urged in one direction by a coil spring. The latch member includes a recess for accepting a striker on the vehicle floor and a projection terminating in a roller. The roller is adopted to aid in transporting the vehicle seat while the seat is removed from the vehicle and is accepted into a U-shaped formation while in the vehicle. The wheeled latch also includes a clasp that can be used to entrap the striker of the vehicle floor within the recess of the latch member. By use of the wheeled latch, a latch assembly at the rear portion of the cushion section and a latch assembly on the back section, the vehicle seat can assume a number of positions: (1) a seating position; (2) a folded position; (3) a tumbled position; and (4) a removed position, whereby the entire vehicle seat is removed from the vehicle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates in general to seat assemblies for motor vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to vehicle seats that are adapted to be removed and easily transported by the use of rollers. More specifically, but without restriction to the particular embodiment and/or use which is shown and described for purposes of illustration, the present invention relates to vehicle seats that can be removed from a vehicle and transported with the aid of rollers. 
     2. Discussion 
     Automobiles contain a plurality of seating assemblies for use by the driver and the passengers of the vehicle. In an effort to create more versatility in today&#39;s vehicles, it is desirable to provide the capability of folding, relocating, or even removing a vehicle seat assembly. This type of versatility is desired in order to increase the cargo space of the vehicle and enhance the utility of the vehicle in order to meet the desires and needs of the driver. Furthermore, there is a need to provide a vehicle seat assembly that can be easily transported once it is removed from the vehicle. 
     Automobile owners require a tremendous amount of versatility in their vehicle. For example, a driver may want to carry five passengers comfortably to a social event. Shortly thereafter, the driver may want to pick up a couch from the furniture store or some lumber from the home improvement store. Large items such as lumber and furniture may not fit in a conventional vehicle with the seat assemblies positioned to carry passengers. Therefore, it is desireable, not only to move or transition the seat within the vehicle to provide more useable cargo space, but also to remove the seat assembly. In addition, the removal of the seat needs to be easy, and the transportation of the seat assembly cannot be onerous. 
     In order to provide this increases utility, a number of varying seat arrangements have been devised that are foldable and removable. Many have even provided means to transport the seat about easily. One such example is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,398, issued Dec. 13, 1994 and titled “Vehicle Seat Assembly With Retracting Latch/Engaging Roller Seat-To-Floor Lock”. &#39;398 describes a seat latching assembly that can be used to lock the seat into place, or to activate rollers that can be used to transport the seat assembly out of the vehicle. The rollers are attached to the bottom of the vehicle seat so that the seat can be rolled out of the rear liftgate. Although this and other present seat assemblies perform satisfactorily, the designs tend to be bulky and overly complex. Furthermore, the &#39;398 design requires the operator to disengage the latch from the rear of the seat that can be burdensome at times. 
     Although the &#39;398 seat provides its desired function, there is a need to provide a seat assembly that can be folded, tumbled, removed easily out of the side door of a vehicle, and transported smoothly by the use of rollers, skis or similar means. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is a principal objective of the present invention to provide a truly versatile and effective vehicle seat. 
     It is another objective of the present invention to provide a vehicle seat that can be folded, tumbled, and removed from the side door of a vehicle. 
     It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a vehicle seat that can be removed from a vehicle and transported easily by the use of rollers. 
     It is a more particular objective of the present invention to provide a vehicle seat assembly that can folded, tumbled, and removed form a vehicle such that a roller extends, at least partially, beyond an edge of the seat so that it can be transported easily on the rollers with the aid of a handle disposed on an opposing side of the seat. 
     In one form, the present invention provides a vehicle seat assembly having a roller for easy transportation thereof. The vehicle seat includes a cushion section, a back section, and preferably a headrest. The cushion section includes a front edge, a rear edge, a top surface, and a bottom. The front edge and the bottom interconnect at a lower edge. A wheeled latch is attached to the cushion section near the front edge thereof. The wheeled latch includes a seat member and a latch member pivotally interconnected at a pivot pin. The seat member is attached to the bottom of the cushion section. The latch member includes a recess to accept a striker disposed on the vehicle floor and a projection terminating in a roller. The vehicle floor also includes a U-shaped formation to accept the roller. The roller includes a shaft connected to the projection that terminates at both ends in wheels. A coil spring is disposed between the latch member and the seat member to urge pivoting in one direction about the pivot pin such that the roller extends from the seat member in a direction substantially parallel to the bottom and top surfaces of the cushion section. The coil spring urges the latch member is a direction away from the rear edge of the cushion section and towards said bottom of said cushion section. The roller is capable of extending at least partially beyond the lower edge of the cushion section of the vehicle seat. The wheeled latch also includes a clasp that can be pivoted relative to the latch member such that the striker can be entrapped between the recess of the latch member and a cup formed within the clasp. The entrapment of the striker limits all motion of the latch member except rotational motion. Rotational motion of the latch member is limited by the U-shaped formations reception of the roller or any other portion of the latch member. 
     While the clasp is in the unlatched or open position, the vehicle seat can be installed in the vehicle or removed from the vehicle. The seat can be removed from the vehicle while the seat is tumbled and the clasp is unlatched by raising the seat in a vertical fashion. A handle is provided that extends from the cushion section to provide ease is removing and transporting the seat. Once the seat is removed from the vehicle it can be transported by allowing the rollers to contact the ground and by pulling on the handle. The handle is disposed at an opposing side of the vehicle seat from the wheeled latch. The handle extends from the vehicle seat in a direction substantially parallel to the top and bottom surface of the vehicle seat and also substantially parallel to the direction at which the roller extends from the seat member. 
     The vehicle seat is installed into the vehicle by vertically placing the wheeled latch in contact with a forwardly placed striker assembly. The wheeled latch is directed such that the striker is received by the recess and the roller is received by the U-shaped formation. Once such installation has occurred, the clasp can be pivoted such that the striker is entrapped between the recess and the clasp. The seat is installed in the tumbled position as shown in FIG.  8 . The seat can then be transitioned to a seating position by first pivoting the cushion and back sections such that the cushion section becomes closer to the floor. This is against the tendencies of the coil spring that has been previously described. The cushion section is pivoted until a latch assembly disposed on the rear portion of the bottom of the cushion section contacts a rearward striker assembly disposed on the floor of the vehicle. The latch assembly and the rearward striker assembly are removeably coupled together. While the rear portion of the cushion section and the vehicle floor are coupled together, pivoting of the latch member and seat member, as urged by the coil spring, is restricted. The seat is now in the folded position. In the folded position, it should be appreciated that the roller no longer extends from the seat member in a manner parallel to the top and bottom surfaces of the seat assembly. Due to the pivoting between the latch member and the seat member, the roller now extends from the seat member in a manner substantially perpendicular to the bottom and top surfaces of the cushion section. The cushion section and the back section are pivotally interconnected such that the back section can either form folded position to form an upright seating position as shown in FIG.  7 . In the upright seating position, the back section is removeable engaged to the C-pillar of the vehicle via a latching and striker assembly. Only while the latch and striker assembly are disengaged can the back section be pivoted. 
     The present invention also provides a strap that is attached to the seat on one end and includes a clip on the other end for attaching to the B-pillar of the vehicle while the seat is in the tumbled position. The present invention also provides a spring mechanism for use with the afore-mentioned clasp. The spring acts to urge the clasp into either the latched or unlatched positions. The wheeled latch also includes a spring interconnecting said clasp and said latch member. The spring includes a maximum expansion point at a pre-determined location between said latched and un-latched positions so that said clasp will be urged to either said to latched and un-latched positions depending on said clasps relation to said maximum expansion point. The latched and un-latched positions of the clasp are minimum expansion or lowest spring force positions for the clasp, therefore, the spring will always urge the clasp to one of those two positions. When the clasp is in a transitional position between the latched and the un-latched position, the spring&#39;s retraction force acts to urge the clasp into either the latch or un-latched position, depending on which side of the maximum expansion of the spring the clasp is placed 
    
    
     Additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates from a reading of the subsequent description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The drawings, which form an integral part of the specification, are to be read in conjunction therewith, and like reference numerals are employed to designate identical components in various views: 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of the vehicle seat of the present invention removed from the vehicle; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear view of the vehicle seat of the present invention removed from the vehicle; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vehicle floor where the vehicle seat of the present invention can be attached; 
     FIG. 4A is a spring-side view of the wheeled latch of the vehicle seat of the present invention, in its non-latched position; 
     FIG. 4B is a clasp-side view of the wheeled latch of the present invention in the latch position, the view includes the wheeled latch in the nonlatched position shown by phantom lines; 
     FIG. 5 is a spring-side view of the wheeled latch of the vehicle seat of the present invention, in its latched position; 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of the latch securing the rear end of the vehicle seat of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of the vehicle seat of the present invention disposed in a seating position within the vehicle, the view also includes the vehicle seat folded shown by phantom lines; and 
     FIG. 8 is a side view of the vehicle seat of the present invention disposed in a tumbled position within the vehicle. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings, there is depicted a vehicle seat illustrating the preferred embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1, the vehicle seat of the present invention is generally indicated by numeral  10 . The seat  10  includes a cushion section  12 , a back section  14 , and a headrest  16 . Cushion section  12  is generally rectangular and is defined by a front edge  18 , a rear edge  20 , top surface  22 , bottom  24 , and a pair of opposing side-walls  26 . The bottom  24  and the front edge  24  interconnect at a location referred to as the lower edge  19 . It should be appreciated that the lower edge  19  may not be a defined edge as in the preferred embodiment. The lower edge  19  is defined as the point at which the bottom begins to transition and turn upward to form front edge  18 . Wheeled latch  30  is attached to bottom  24  of cushion section  12  near the front edge  18  thereof. Wheeled latch  30  includes a roller  31  that can be extended beyond the front edge  18  and is adopted to be rolled upon the ground while transporting the vehicle seat  10 . Roller  31  of wheeled latch  30  extends from the seat  10  in a direction  27  substantially parallel to the surface of bottom  24  of cushion section  12 . It should be appreciated that roller  31  is only required to extend partially beyond the lower edge  19  of the front edge  18  in order to function properly. A handle  28  is attached at the rear edge  20  of cushion section  12  in order to aid in transportation of the vehicle seat  10 . Handle  28  extends from the vehicle seat in a direction substantially parallel to the extension of said at least one roller and substantially parallel to the surface of bottom  24  of cushion section. It can be appreciated from FIG. 1 that handle  28  extends from the edge of seat  10  that is opposite the wheeled latch  30  and roller  31 . The back section  14  is pivotally connected to the cushion section  12  near the rear edge thereof. Back section  14  includes a bottom edge  32 , a top edge  34 , a seat back  36 , a front surface  38 , and a pair of opposing side-walls  40 . Preferably, a headrest  16  is adjustably engaged to back section  14  at top edge  34 . 
     Turning to FIG. 2, vehicle seat  10  is shown removed from the vehicle from a rear perspective. FIG. 2 illustrates handle  28  in greater detail which includes an elongated structure  42  with hand grips  44  and two downstanding arms  46  and  46 ′ disposed on opposite sides of the elongated structure  42 . FIG. 2 also illustrates strap  48  and clip  50  disposed in their storage position. Strap  48  is secured to seat  10  at one end and terminates in clip  50  at its other end. Clip  50  can be inserted into holding mechanism  52  that is disposed on the bottom  24  of cushion section  12 . Holding mechanism  52  consists of cooperating plastic formations  54  and  54 ′ that are adapted to fit clip  50  snugly therebetween. Bottom  24  of cushion section  12  also includes, preferably, two latch assemblies  60 . The latch assemblies  60  are used to couple the rear portion  62  of the cushion section  12  to the vehicle floor (not shown in FIG. 2) and will be described subsequently in greater detail. Latch assemblies  60  are operated by means of lever  70 . Lever  70  is disposed near the side-wall  26  of the cushion portion  12  of the vehicle seat  10 . Cushion section  12  of vehicle seat  10  preferably includes a rubber mount  64  that projects therefrom. Rubber mount  64  is used to reduce vibrational noise of the vehicle seat  10  while installed in a vehicle. 
     Turning to FIG. 3, a vehicle floor  72  is illustrated. Vehicle floor  72  includes a raised platform  71  and a lower foot platform  73 . The vehicle seat  10 , preferably attaches to the vehicle floor  72  at 4 locations. Floor  72 , specifically the raised platform  71  of the floor  72 , includes two forward striker assemblies  74 ,  76  and two rearward striker assemblies  78 ,  80 . Since the forward striker assemblies  74  and  76  are substantially identical, only one will be described. Forward striker assembly  74  includes a cavity  81  having a laterally extending striker  82  and a generally U-shaped bracket  84  formed therein. Rearward striker assemblies  78  and  80  are also substantially identical, therefore, only one will be described in detail. Rearward striker assembly  78  includes a cavity  86  with a laterally extending striker  88  disposed therein 
     Referring now to FIG. 4A, a cross sectional view of forward striker assembly  74  is provided. FIG. 4A includes the wheeled latch  30  of the vehicle to seat  10  viewed from the spring-side  89 . The wheeled latch  30  in FIG. 4A is shown in the unlatched and tumbled position, which is indicative of installation of the seat  10  in to the vehicle. U-shaped bracket  84  projects from the lower surface  90  of cavity  81  and includes a forward and rearward formation,  92  and  94  respectively. Wheeled latch  30  includes a seat member  100  and a latch member  102  interconnected by a pivot pin  104  that is solidly attached to latch member  102 . A coil spring  106  is disposed between the pivot pin  104  and seat member  102  via peg  108 . Coil spring  106  acts to urge seat member  100  and latch member  102  to maintain the orientation shown in FIG.  4 A. The range of movement between seat member  100  and latch member  102  will be discussed subsequently. 
     Latch member  102  includes a projection  110  extending therefrom in the direction indicated by reference numeral  27 . Projection  110  terminates near roller  31 . Roller  31  includes a shaft  112  that extends in a direction perpendicular to projection  110 . Shaft  112  has a diameter  114  that is slightly smaller than the distance between formation  92  and  94  of the U-shaped bracket  84 . Shaft  112 , by its relationship with U-shaped bracket  84  limits movement of the latch member  102  in the forward and rearward direction. Shaft  112  terminates on either side by wheels  131  that are disposed to rotate in order to aid in the transportation of vehicle seat  10 . Shaft  112  with wheels  131  limit movement of the latch member in the lateral or cross car direction by the wheels  131  contact with the U-shaped formation  84 . Latch member  102  also includes a recess  113  that is adapted to accept striker  82  therein. As vehicle seat  10  is translated from a position outside of the vehicle (see FIGS. 1 and 2) to the position shown in FIG. 4B, projection  110  with shaft  112  is guided into U-shaped bracket  84  at the same time that recess  113  is guided towards striker  82 . It can be appreciated that once in this position, some movement of the seat  10  is restricted, however the seat can still move vertically upward and may also slightly pivot about shaft  112  with such upward movement. Latch member  102  also includes a pivotable clasp  116 . Clasp  116  includes a handle  118  and a cup portion  120 . Clasp  116  is adopted to pivot about latch member  102  and receive striker  82  within cup  120  as shown in FIG.  5 . It should be appreciate that clasp  116  acts to rotatably couple latch member  102  to striker  82 . However, any possible rotational movement of the latch member  102  is prevented by the reception of the projection  110  with roller  114  in U-shaped formation  84 . The pivotable clasp  116  will be described in detail subsequently. It should, however, be appreciated that by shaft  112  relationship with the U-shaped bracket  84  and the striker  82  being entrapped between recess  112  and cup portion  120  of clasp  116 , latch member  102  is effectively coupled to the vehicle floor  72 . This creates a locking system that can eliminate movement between the latch member  102  and the vehicle floor  72  by rotatably coupling one point and by longitudinally and laterally locking another point. 
     The range of movement between seat member  100  and latch member  102  can be shown in FIG.  4 B. FIG. 4B is a cross sectional view of forward striker assembly  74  similar to FIG. 4A except that it is taken from the clasp-side  99 . Clasp-side  99  is opposite of spring-side  89  shown in FIG.  4 A. The coil spring can  106  force the rear portion  62  of cushion section  12  away from the vehicle floor  72  until post  150  contacts the end  152  of a curved or partial slot  154 . Post  150  with its cooperation with slot  154  acts to limit the range of pivoting between the latch member  102  and the seat member  100 . Post  150  projects from seat member  100  of the wheeled latch  30  and partial slot  154  is formed in the latch member  102 . 
     The operation of clasp  116  is also shown in greater detail in FIG.  4 B. Clasp  116  is pivotally connected to the latch member  102  at a pivot pin  156 . Clasp  116  is allowed to pivot about the pin  156  such that cup portion  120  can be disposed about recess  113  of latch member  102  to entrap striker  82  therein, as shown in FIG.  4 B. Clasp  116  can also pivot such that striker  82  is not entrapped within recess  113  as illustrated in phantom in FIG.  4 B. Clasp  116  includes a arm  158  that is attached to a spring  160  via cylindrical projection  159 . Spring  160  is attached to a fixed point  169  on the latch member  102  at its other end. The spring  160  reaches its maximum expansion at a pre-determined location while the clasp  116  is between the latched (shown in FIG. 4B) and un-latched (shown in FIG. 4B in phantom) positions. Spring  160  acts to force clasp into either the latched or the un-latched position depending on its relation to the maximum expansion of spring  160 . It should be appreciated that the latched and un-latched positions correspond to the least retractive force or the minimum expansion of the spring  160 . If the clasp  116  is in a transitional position between the latched and the unlatched position, the spring  160  retraction force acts to urge the clasp into either the latch or unlatched position, depending on which side of the maximum expansion of the spring  160  the clasp is placed. 
     Rearward striker assembly  78  of FIG. 3 is adapted to receive latch assembly  60  of vehicle seat  10 . FIG. 6 provides a cross sectional view of rearward striker assembly  78  and latch assembly  60  shown in the latched or coupled position. After wheeled latch  30  of vehicle seat  10  is placed into position and coupled to the vehicle floor  72  as shown in FIG.  5 . The seat  10  can be about pivot pin  104  such that the rear portion  62  of cushion section  12  moves closer to the floor  72 , which is against the tendencies of coil spring  106 . Seat  10  is pivoted until rubber mount  64  contacts floor  72 . Just before rubber mount  64  contacts floor  72  hook  126  of latch assembly  60  contacts striker  88 . Inclined surface  128  of hook  126  contacts striker  88 , striker  88  forces hook  126  to move longitudinally in a direction  129  against the spring force of elastic member  130 . The hook  126  will slide as striker  88  is in contact with inclined surface  128  until striker  88  passes tip  132 , at which point elastic member  130  causes caused hook  126  to return to a static position as shown in FIG.  6 . In this position, striker  88  is accepted by recess  134  which will prevent pivoting of the vehicle seat  10  about pivot pin  104  while the latch assembly  60  and the rearward striker assembly  78  are coupled, as illustrated in FIG.  6 . The latch assembly  60  and the rearward striker assembly  78  can be de-coupled by activation of lever  70  (shown in FIG. 2) which places tension on cable  136  such that hook  126  moves longitudinally against the tendencies of elastic member  130 , in the direction indicated by arrow  129 . Once tip  132  clears striker  88 , cushion section  12  will pivot about pivot pin  104  due to the action of coil spring  106 . 
     Turning to FIG. 7, once the cushion section  12  is coupled to the floor  72  at the wheeled latch  30  and the latch assembly  60 , the back section  14  can be pivoted upward until latch assembly  138  contacts a striker  149  disposed on the rearward pillar or the C-pillar  151  of the vehicle. Latch assembly  138  is substantially identical to and behaves in substantially the same manner as previously described latch assembly  60 . Latch assembly  138  can be de-coupled from the C-pillar of the vehicle by activating knob  140 , again knob  140  acts in substantially the same manner as lever  70 . 
     With continued reference to FIG. 7, vehicle seat  10  is illustrated in the seating position. The seating position is achieved by coupling wheeled latch  30  and latch assembly  60  to the vehicle floor  72  and coupling latch assembly  138  to the C-pillar  151  of the vehicle. Once knob  140  is activated, seat back  14  is de-coupled from the C-pillar and can be folded or pivoted about point  142 , such that seat back  36  forms a substantially planar surface parallel with vehicle floor  72 . From the folded position, shown in phantom in FIG. 7, lever  70  can be activated to de-couple latch assembly  60  from floor  72 . After latch assembly  60  is de-coupled, coil spring  106  acts to urge cushion section  12 , along with back section  14  and headrest  16 , to tumble or pivot about pivot pin  104  as shown in FIG.  8 . The tumbling or pivoting motion is indicated in FIG. 8 by arrow  175 . While in the tumbled position, strap  48  is preferably removed from holding mechanism  52  and clip  50  is attached to a structure  144  on the forward or B-pillar  146  of the vehicle. Strap  48  and clip  50  are used to ensure seat  10  remains in a properly tumbled position. From this tumbled position, seat  10  can be removed from the vehicle. The strap  48  and clip  50  first need to be detached from the B-pillar. Then clasp  116  must be de-coupled by pivoting handle  118  upward. Once the clasp  116  is de-coupled from striker  82 , then vehicle seat  10  can be removed in an upward fashion. Once removed from the vehicle, the rollers  31  can rotate along the ground while being pulled by and individual using the handle  28  as a means to grab the vehicle seat  10 . It should be appreciated that handle  28  can also be utilized when the vehicle seat  10  needs to be removed in an upward fashion from forward striker assembly  74 . 
     While the above description constitutes the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation, and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the accompanying claims.