Vehicle seat

Abstract: A seat (10) for a vehicle has front and rear legs (24,26) releasably latched to pins (30) located in wells (32) in the vehicle floor. The seat (10) is manually folded and stored in the vehicle by releasing the rear legs (26) and pivoting the seat (10) forwardly on the front pins (30) to a vertical position. The seat (10) is removed from the vehicle by releasing the front legs (24) when the seat (10) is in the stored position and lifting the seat (10) off the front pins (30). Latch mechanisms (36,50) for the front and rear legs have locks so that the legs (24,26) are not unlatched unintentionally. A lift assist mechanism (72-78) is also provided for pivoting the seat (10) forwardly on the front pins (30) to the stored position.

Description: This invention relates to a vehicle seat, for example a rear seat for an all purpose vehicle, as set forth in the preamble of claim 1. All purpose vehicles, particularly minivans are becoming increasingly popular because they offer great variety in seating configuration for maximising passenger or cargo transport and for providing any desired combination between these extremes. The variety and changeability of the seating configuration is enhanced by the use of individual rear passenger seats which are readily storable in the vehicle as well as removable from the vehicle. US-A-4 700 989 (corresponding to the preamble of claim 1) discloses a storable and removable rear vehicle seat popularly referred to as a "flip and fold" seat because the seat back is folded down onto the seat, which is then flipped up for storage or removal. The seat arrangement has front and rear forks, which support the seat on four mounting pins recessed in the vehicle floor, and manually operable latching arrangements for latching the forks on the mounting pins. The front and rear forks have separate latching arrangements so that the rear forks can be unlatched while the front forks remain latched to flip the seat up for storage in an upright or vertical position. This rear seat arrangement also includes a control rod system for locking the manually operable front latching mechanism so that it cannot be unlatched unless the seat is in the upright stored position in the vehicle. This assures that the front latching mechanism is not unlatched unintentionally. However, this control rod system is complicated and costly. The present invention seeks to provide an improved vehicle seat. According to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle including a vehicle seat as specified in claim 1. The invention can provide in some embodiments a rear seat for an all purpose vehicle or the like which can have an improved arrangement for latching the seat in the vehicle securely but which is manually storable in the vehicle or manually removable from the vehicle easily and without need for any tools. It is possible to have a mechanism for locking the front latching mechanism which is simple, efficient and cost effective. The seat has a mechanism for locking the rear latching mechanism so that the rear latching mechanism is not unlatched unintentionally. The seat may also be provided with a lift assist mechanism which is simple, efficient and cost effective. An embodiment of the present invention is described below, by way of illustration only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view in partial cross-section of an embodiment of vehicle seat installed in a vehicle; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the vehicle seat of Figure 1 in the process of being removed from the vehicle; Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the vehicle seat of Figure 1 in the process of being stored in the vehicle; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing a release lever of the vehicle seat in another position; and Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing a latch hook of the vehicle seat in an unlatched position. Referring to Figure 1, the embodiment of vehicle seat 10 shown includes a frame 11 comprising two side members 12 fastened together by a plurality of tubular cross members 14. Tubular cushion frames 16 and 18 are attached to the seat frame 11 to support seat and back cushions 20 and 22 respectively. The seat frame 11 also includes two front legs 24 and two rear legs 26 formed as forks which have pin receiving slots at their lower ends. The front legs 24 are short and fixed to the side members 12 at the front of the seat frame 11. The longer rear legs 26 are secured to the side members 12 at the rear of the seat frame 11 by pivot pins 28 so that the rear legs 26 fold down to a stored position, as explained below. When installed, the seat frame 11 is supported by four horizontal pins 30 which engage in the respective slots at the lower ends of the front and rear legs 24 and 26, as shown in Figure 1. The support pins 30 are located in individual wells 32 in the vehicle floor 34. The rear seat 10 is attached to and supported by these support pins 30 for passenger transportation. However, the rear seat 10 can be detached from the rear support pins 30 and stored in the vehicle or detached from all four support pins 30 and removed from the vehicle, as explained below. When the rear seat 10 is installed in the vehicle as shown in Figure 1, the front legs 24 are latched to the front support pins 30 by front hooks 36. These hooks are secured to the respective front legs 24 by rivet pins 38 so that the hooks 36 rotate with respect to the front legs 24 to latch and unlatch the pins 30 in the pin receiving slots. Torsion springs 40 mounted on the rivet pins 38 bias the front hooks 36 clockwise, as viewed in Figure 1, to the latched position shown. The front hooks 36 are operated by a front, rod shaped, first handle (hereafter called lift handle) 42 disposed between the lower portions of the side members 12 beneath the seat cushion frame 16. The lift handle 42 has a trunnion 44 at each end which cooperates with the front legs 24 and hooks at each respective end. Each trunnion 44 extends through a hole in one front hook 36 and then through a kidney shaped slot in the front leg 24 next to it so that the front lift handle 42 rotates the front hook 36 with respect to the front leg 24 only within the limits of the kidney shaped slot as best shown in Figure 2. The lift handle 42 also has slide portions 46 at each end which slide in yokes 47 attached to the respective side members 12 so that the lift handle 42 slides in a direction generally parallel with the lower portions of the side members 12. The front hooks 36 are normally biased by the torsion springs 40 to the latched position shown in Figures 1 and 2. However, when the front lift handle 42 is lifted, that is pulled away from the slotted ends of the front legs 24, the front hooks 36 are rotated against the bias of the torsion springs 40 to the unlatched position unblocking the open end of the slots in the front legs 24 as shown in Figure 5. This unlatches the rear seat 10 from the front mounting pins 30. The front hooks 36 are locked in the latched position so that the rear seat 10 cannot be unlatched from the front mounting pins 30 unintentionally when it is installed in the vehicle. This lock feature is provided by at least one and preferably both front wells 32. More specifically at least one front well 32 has a fixed abutment 48 (Figure 2) which serves two functions. First, the abutment 48 locks the front hook 36 in the latched position when the rear seat is installed in the vehicle because the abutment 48 blocks counterclockwise rotation of the front hook 36 with respect to the front leg 24 as shown in Figure 1. Consequently, the rear seat 10 must be flipped or pivoted up to the stored position shown in Figure 2 before the front hooks 36 can be rotated counterclockwise to unlatch the rear seat 10 fully and remove it from the vehicle. This prevents unintentional unlatching of the front hooks 36 and also provides a foolproof method of assuring the correct procedure for storing the rear seat 10 in the vehicle. Secondly, the fixed abutment 48 does not allow installation of the rear seat 10 in the vehicle unless the front legs 24 are dropped down on the front pins 30 and latched to the front pins 30 by front hooks 36 before the rear legs 26 are engaged. This is as a result of the front hooks 36 not being rotatable from the unlatched position to the latched position under the front pins 30 unless the side members 12 are in a vertical position as shown in Figure 2. Consequently, the abutment 48 also provides a foolproof method of assuring the correct procedure for installing the rear seat 10 in the vehicle. When the rear seat 10 is installed in the vehicle as shown in Figure 1, the rear legs 26 are latched to the rear support pins 30 by rear hooks 50. These hooks 50 are secured to their respective rear legs 26 by rivet pins 52 so that the hooks 50 rotate with respect to the rear legs 26 to latch and unlatch the rear pins 30 in the pin receiving slots. Torsion springs 54 mounted on the rivet pins 52 bias the rear hooks 50 clockwise to the latched position shown in Figure 1. The rear hooks 50 are operated by a rear, rod shaped, second handle (hereinafter called lift handle) 56 disposed between the side members 12 and beneath the rear tubular cross member 14. The lift handle 56 has a trunnion 58 at each end which cooperates with the rear legs 26 and hooks at each respective end. Each trunnion 58 extends through a hole in one rear hook 50 and then through a kidney shaped slot in the rear leg 26 next to it so that the rear lift handle 56 rotates the rear hook 50 with respect to the rear leg 26 only within the limits of the kidney shaped slot. The lift handle 56 also has a slide portion 60 at each end which slides in yokes 62 attached to the respective side members 12 so that the lift handle 56 slides in a direction generally vertical when the rear seat 10 is installed in the vehicle as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The rear hooks 50 are normally biased by the torsion springs 54 to the latched position shown in Figures 1 and 3. However, when the rear lift handle 56 is lifted, that is, pulled away from the slotted ends of the legs 26, the rear hooks 50 are rotated against the bias of the torsion springs 54 to the unlatched position unblocking the open end of the slots in the rear legs 26 as shown in phantom in Figure 3. This unlatches the rear seat 10 from the rear mounting pins 30. The rear hooks 50 are also locked in the latched position so that the rear seat 10 cannot be unlatched from the rear mounting pins 30 unintentionally when it is installed in the vehicle. This second lock feature is provided by a cam shaped release lever 64 which is journalled on a top cross rod portion 66 of the rear lift handle 56. This release lever 64 is biased in a clockwise direction with respect to the cross rod portion 66 against a stop pin 68 by a torsion spring 70 as shown in Figures 1 and 3. This is a locked position where the cam shaped release lever 64 engages the rear cross member 14 so that the rear lift handle 56 cannot be raised to unlatch the rear hooks 50. It should also be noted that the centre of the cross rod portion 66 is over centre with respect to the plane 69 containing centres of the trunnions 58 and the rear cross member 14. Consequently, lifting the rear lift handle 56 when the release lever 64 is in the locked position just holds the rear hooks 50 in the latched position with greater force. The rear latching mechanism is unlocked by rotating the release lever 64 counterclockwise against the bias of torsion spring 70 until it bottoms out on the other end of the stop pin 68 and the release lever 64 is spaced from the rear cross member 14, as shown in Figure 4. The rear lift handle 56 is then lifted to rotate the rear hooks 50 to their unlatched position. Once the rear hooks 50 are unlatched, the rear seat 10 is flipped or pivoted up about the front mounting pins 30 to the vertical or stored position shown in phantom in Figure 1 and in Figure 2. Thus, the second stop, that is the release lever 64, prevents unintentional unlatching of the rear hooks 50. A lift assist mechanism for assisting the operator in pivoting the rear seat upwardly about the front mounting pins 30 when the rear hooks 50 are unlatched comprises a torsion bar 72 having an anchor 74 at one end which is secured to one side member 12 and a foot 76 at the other end which is inside the other side member 12. The foot 76 engages the vehicle floor 34 so that the torsion bar 72 applies a counterclockwise torque to the seat frame 11. The torsion bar 72 is wound up when the rear seat 10 is installed. Consequently, the torsion bar 72 assists in flipping or raising up the rear seat from the installed position shown in Figures 1 and 3 to the stored position shown in Figure 2 when the rear hooks 50 are unlatched. The foot 76 is also attached to one of the rear forks or legs 26 by a tie bar 78 so that the rear legs 26 are folded down as the rear seat 10 is raised up to the stored position.

Claims: A vehicle including a vehicle seat (10) comprising a frame (11) including first and second pairs of legs (24,26) for supporting the seat on mounting pins (30) in respective first and second pairs of wells (32) in the vehicle floor, latching means (36) for latching the first pair of legs (24) to two mounting pins (30) in the first pair of wells (32) including one or more first hooks (36) rotatable between a latched position and an unlatched position, a first handle (42) for rotating the or each first hook between the latched and unlatched positions, and locking means (48) for locking the or each first hook in the latched position, characterised in that the locking means includes an abutment (48) in one or each well (32) of the first pair of wells operative to prevent rotation of the or an associated first hook (36) when in a latched position and when the seat is in an installed condition. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the or each first hook (36) is rotatable to the latched position when the first pair of legs (24) is rotated relative to the mounting pins (30) in the first pair of wells (32) to set the seat in a stored position. A vehicle according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, further comprising latching means (50) for latching the second pair of legs (26) to two mounting pins (30) in the second pair of wells (32) including one or more second hooks (50) rotatable between a latched position and an unlatched position, a second handle (56) connected to the or each second hook (50) for rotating the or each second hook (50) between the latched and unlatched positions, and locking means (64) for locking the or each second hook (50) in the latched position including a release lever (64) rotatably mounted on the second handle (56) and engageable to the frame (11) to hold the second handle (56) in a non-operative position so as to maintain the or each second hook (50) in the latched position. A vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the release lever (64) includes a cam surface, the seat including a spring (70) for biasing the cam surface into engagement with a cross member (14) of the frame (11) so as to hold the second handle (56) in the non-operative position. A vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the release lever (64) is rotatable to a position in which the cam surface is spaced from the cross member (14) so as to enable operation of the second handle (56). A vehicle according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the second handle (56) includes trunnions (58) at each end thereof pivotally connected to the second hooks (50), and a cross rod portion (66) including a centre located over centre of a plane containing the centres of the trunnions and the cross member (14) of the frame (11). A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a lift assist mechanism (72-78) for use in moving the seat frame (11) to a stored position in which the second hook or hooks (50) are unlatched, the first hook or hooks (36) are latched and the seat frame is pivoted on the two mounting pins (30) in the first pair of wells (32), the lift assist mechanism including a torsion rod (78) comprising a first end connected to the frame and a foot (76) adjacent a second end thereof for engaging the vehicle floor. A vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the torsion rod (78) is connected to a side member (12) of the frame (11) at the first end of the torsion rod, and the foot (76) at the second end of the torsion rod is disposed inside an opposing side member (12) of the frame. A vehicle according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the second pair of legs (26) are pivotally mounted to the frame (11) and the foot (76) of the lift mechanism (72-78) is connected to one of the second pair of legs (26) to cause the second pair of legs to fold towards the seat frame when the seat is moved to the stored position. A vehicle according to any preceding claim, wherein the first pair of legs (24) is remote from a seat back relative to the second pair of legs (26).

Inventors: BOLSWORTH JAMES, KONDZIOLA JOSEPH DOMINIC, PYSZEL KENNETH STANLEY, BOLSWORTH, JAMES, KONDZIOLA, JOSEPH DOMINIC, PYSZEL, KENNETH STANLEY
Applicants: GEN MOTORS CORP, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B60N2
IPC codes: B60N2