Abstract:
A vehicle utility seat in which the seat back can be rotated down onto the seat bottom to form a pass through opening into the trunk area of the vehicle. In addition, the seat bottom can be rotated upward to a stowed position immediately in front of the seat back providing increased cargo area in the rear seat area. A flat load floor is provided beneath the seat bottom for placing cargo thereon. The seat bottom and seat back are formed with complementary seating surfaces so that the seat bottom and seat back can nest together and occupy a minimal volume in the vehicle to maximize the cargo carrying capacity of the vehicle. In addition, the seat bottom and seat back are mounted to the vehicle for rotation about a common pivot axis.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a vehicle seat and in particular to a utility seat for a motor vehicle which is designed not only to carry passengers within the vehicle but also to facilitate the carrying of cargo within the motor vehicle. 
     Motor vehicle manufacturers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to provide increased utility in motor vehicles. Part of this awareness involves a recognition that motor vehicles, such as passenger cars, are used not only to carry passengers but also to carry cargo. Studies have indicated that the rear seat area of a passenger car is used more often to carry cargo than it is used to carry passengers. 
     It is well know to provide vehicle seats in which the seat back of the rear vehicle seat can be rotated forward, from its upright use position, to a stowed position resting upon the seat cushion. This opens the rear seat area of the vehicle to the trunk area, allowing larger items to be placed in the trunk which extend forward into the passenger compartment and rest upon the rear surface of the stowed seat back. This is one example of a seat which is designed not only for passengers, but also for cargo. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle seat which offers increased utility, beyond a fold down seat back, to provide greater ease and convenience in carrying cargo or passengers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The seat of the present invention expands upon the utility offered by a fold down seat back by providing a seat bottom which rotates up to stowed position immediately in front of the upright seat back. This opens the entire rear seat area for carrying cargo which the vehicle user does not wish to carry in the trunk or which is not so large that it must be carried in the trunk. In addition, more room is available for cargo which a user does not want in the trunk or on the seat bottom such as milk jugs or potted plants which could soil the seat. 
     Additional utility is provided by a flat load floor below the seat cushion. The flat load floor is revealed when the seat bottom is rotated to the upright stowed position. 
     To maximize the cargo carrying capacity of the vehicle, the seat bottom and the seat back are made as thin as possible to reduce the volume occupied by the seat, thereby increasing the volume available for cargo. This is accomplished by forming the seat bottom and seat back out of thin panels of metal or plastic. This avoids the need for a metal frame, a suspension system and a separate foam pad supported thereon. The plastic or metal panels can also have thin pads attached thereto which form a part or all of the seating surface of the seat bottom and seat back for passenger comfort. 
     The volume occupied by the seat back and seat bottom when stowed is further minimized by providing seating surfaces for the seat back and the seat bottom which are complementary in shape to one another. This enables the seating surfaces to be in contact over substantially the entire seating surface rather than having a “high point” on the seat bottom engage a “high point” in the seat back with the remaining areas of the seating surfaces spaced from one another. 
     The volume occupied by the seat is further minimized by mounting the seat bottom and seat back to the vehicle body for rotation about a common pivot axis. This reduces the size of the mounting and pivoting mechanisms for the seat bottom and seat back. 
     Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the seat of the present invention shown within a motor vehicle; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the seat of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the seat of the present invention, similar to FIG. 1, in which one panel of the seat back has been rotated downward to a stowed position while one panel of the seat bottom has been rotated upward to a stowed position; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the seat of the present invention with all of the panels of the seat bottom rotated upward to stowed positions revealing the flat load floor beneath the seat bottom; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the seat of the present invention with the seat bottom and the seat back made of a single panel; and 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a seat panel as seen from substantially the stepped section line  6 — 6  in FIG.  2 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to FIG. 1, the seat  20  of the present invention is shown within a vehicle  22 . The vehicle  22  has a body  24  and is a sedan type of vehicle. The invention, however, is not limited to use within a sedan type vehicle. The vehicle body  24  includes a floor pan  26  which forms a foot well  28  forward of the seat  20 . The body  24  further includes a rear shelf  29  immediately behind the seat back as described below. 
     The seat  20  includes a seat bottom  30  which is shown in FIG. 1 in a generally horizontal use position. The seat bottom  30  has an upper seating surface  32  which a seat occupant engages when seated on the seat  20 . The seat bottom  30  is formed by three separate seat bottom panels; a left outboard panel  36 , a center panel  38  and a right outboard panel  40 . The seat bottom panels each have a rear end  42  and a front end  44 . 
     The seat  20  further includes a seat back  46  which is shown in FIG. 1 in a generally upright use position. The seat back  46  has a front seating surface  48  which is engaged by a seat occupant when seated on the seat  20 . Like the seat bottom  30 , the seat back  46  is formed by a left outboard panel  50 , a center panel  52  and a right outboard panel  54 . The seat back panels each have a lower end  56  and an upper end  58 . The upper ends  58  of the seat back panels are generally adjacent to the rear shelf  29  of the vehicle body when the seat back panels are in their upright use positions. The seat back panels are latched to the structure of the shelf  29  and/or to the vehicle body on the outboard sides of the seat back. The latches are not shown but are known features in seat backs which fold down. 
     The seat bottom panels  36 ,  38 ,  40  and the seat back panels  50 ,  52 ,  54  are made of metal or plastic bodies. The metal bodies may be stamped steel, cast aluminum, magnesium, titanium or other metals which provide the required support. Plastic bodies can be injection or blow molded of a variety of resins, plastics, or other materials appropriate for such processes. A plastic body  130  is shown in FIG. 6. A metal insert  132  is attached to the plastic body for added strength. The metal insert  132  may be insert molded within the plastic body  130  or may be separately formed and attached. 
     The seat  20  further includes restraints for seat occupants. The restraints include belts  60  which have one end anchored to the vehicle body at the two sides of the seat  20 . The belts extend upwardly to the shelf  29  and are attached to the shelf structure through a webbing retractor in a known manner or are attached to the vehicle body. The belts  60  each carry a tongue  62  which is inserted into a buckle  64  described in greater detail below. When the tongue is inserted into the buckle, belt webbing is withdrawn from the retractor and forms a lap and shoulder belt for the outboard seat occupants. 
     The seat bottom panels  36 ,  38 ,  40  and the seat back panels  50 ,  52 ,  54  are mounted in the vehicle body  24  for rotation between use and stowed positions. The seat  20  includes multiple fixed pivot supports  66 ,  68 ,  70  and  72  spaced across the vehicle at the rear end of the seat bottom  30  and at the lower end of the seat back  46 . The fixed pivot supports  66 ,  68 ,  70 ,  72  support one or more pivot pins  74  which extend across the vehicle and define a pivot axis  76  for the seat bottom  30  and the seat back  46 . The fixed pivot supports  66 ,  68 ,  70 ,  72  each include a center bore  78  which receives the pivot pin(s)  74 . The seat bottom panels, as illustrated by the seat bottom panel  40  shown in FIG. 2, include a pair of rearwardly extending mounting flanges  80  each having an aperture  82  therethrough. The mounting flanges  80  are disposed within slots  84  in the fixed pivot supports  66 ,  68  with the center apertures  82  of the mounting flanges  80  aligned with the center bores  78  of the fixed pivot supports  66 ,  68 . 
     The seat back panels, as illustrated by the seat back panel  54 , are formed with a cylindrical mounting boss  86  at the lower end  56 . The cylindrical mounting boss  86  has a center bore  88 . The cylindrical mounting boss  88  is disposed between the two spaced fixed pivot supports  66 ,  68  with the center bore  88  aligned with the center bores  78  of the adjacent fixed pivot supports  66 ,  68 . The mounting pin  74  is inserted through the center bores  78  of the fixed pivot supports  66 ,  68 , the center apertures  82  of the seat bottom panel  40  and the center bore  88  of the back panel  54  to rotatably attach the seat bottom panel  40  and seat back panel  54  to the fixed pivot supports  66 ,  68 . The fixed pivot supports  66 ,  68 ,  70 ,  72  are attached to the vehicle body  24  by mounting brackets  90 . The result is attachment of the seat bottom panels  36 ,  38 ,  40  and the seat back panels  50 ,  52 ,  54  to the vehicle body for rotation about the pivot axis  76 . 
     The other seat bottom panels  36 ,  38  and the other seat back panels  50 ,  52  are similarly attached to the fixed pivot supports  68 ,  70  and  72 . While the seat bottom panels  36 ,  38 ,  40  have been shown as being attached by the mounting flanges  80  and while the seat back panels  50 ,  52 ,  54  have been shown as being attached by the cylindrical mounting bosses  86 , it will be appreciated that the cylindrical mounting bosses  86  can be placed on the seat bottom panels while the mounting flanges  80  can be placed on the seat back panels. Alternatively, all the seat bottom and seat back panels can be attached by mounting flanges  80  or cylindrical mounting bosses  86 . 
     The seat belt buckles  64  are mounted to the fixed pivot supports  68 ,  70  and through the mounting brackets  90  to the vehicle body  24 . Seat belt buckles  64  are thereby held in position in the bite line of the seat  20 . For the center seat occupant, one buckle  64  is provided on the fixed pivot support  68  while a belt tongue  62  is mounted to the fixed pivot support  70 . The tongue  62  is coupled to webbing and retractor (not shown) to be pulled over the center occupant&#39;s lap and secured in the buckle  64  on the other side of the occupant to form a lap belt. 
     The seat bottom panels  36 ,  38 ,  40  each include a pad  92  which forms a portion of upper seating surface  32  of the seat bottom  30 . The pads  92  are disposed within a shallow recess  94  in the seat bottom panels  36 ,  38 ,  40  whereby the thickness of the seat bottom panels is minimized. Likewise, the seat back panels  50 ,  52 ,  54  include pads  96  which form a portion of the front seating surface  48  of the seat back panels. The pads  96  are also disposed in a shallow recess  98  in the seat back panels. It will be appreciated that larger pads could be used forming the entire seating surfaces  32 ,  48  of the seat bottom  30  and seat back  46 . 
     The upper seating surface  32  of the seat bottom  30  has a slightly concave rear portion  100  and a generally planar front portion  102 . The concave rear portion  100  is generally in the area of a seat occupant&#39;s buttocks. The front seating surface  48  of the seat back  46  is formed with a slightly convex lower portion  104  and a generally planar upper portion  106 . The convex lower portion  104  is generally in the lumbar region of a seat occupant&#39;s back. The contours of the seat bottom  30  and seat back  46  with the planar, convex and concave portions as described are complementary to one another. Thus when the panels are rotated together, as shown in FIG. 3 with the right outboard seat back panel  54  rotated to a generally horizontal position upon the right seat bottom panel  40 , the two complementary seating surfaces  32 ,  48  nest with one another. The seating surfaces  32 ,  48  are in substantial surface to surface contact over the entire area of the smaller of the two seating surfaces  32 ,  48  rather than contacting at high points and leaving gaps between the seating surfaces at other locations. As shown in FIG. 3, the front seating surface  48  of the seat back panel  54 , when the panel  54  is in a stowed position, is in confronting juxtaposition with the upper seating surface  32  of the seat bottom panel  40 . 
     One or more of the seat back panels  50 ,  52 ,  54  can be rotated down to a generally horizontal stowed position as shown in FIG. 3 with the right outboard seat back panel  54 . Alternatively, the seat bottom panels  36 ,  38 ,  40  can be rotated upwardly to upright stowed positions immediately in front of the seat back panels as shown by the left outboard seat bottom panel  36  in FIG.  3  and with all of the seat bottom panels  36 ,  38 ,  40  in FIG.  4 . With the seat bottom panels rotated upwardly to stowed positions, the upper seating surface  32  of the seat bottom panels is in confronting juxtaposition with the front seating surface  48  of the seat back panels. 
     Beneath the seat bottom  30 , the seat includes a load floor  108 . Preferably, the load floor  108  is planar and generally horizontal so that cargo can be placed thereon, such as the cooler  110  shown in FIG.  3 . The load floor  108  includes a recessed portion  112 . This facilitates retention of cargo on the load floor  108  by providing an upright raised lip  114  at the front of the load floor  108 . The load floor  108  is preferably a separate component attached to the vehicle body. Alternatively, the load floor  108  could be a component of the body  24  itself. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, support members  116  are provided on the lower side of the seat bottom panels  36 ,  38 ,  40 . The support members  116  are preferably made of rubber or other resilient polymeric material. In addition to supporting the seat bottom panels,  36 ,  38 ,  40  upon the load floor, the supports  116  provide vibration isolation between the vehicle body  24  and the seat bottom panels. The seat bottom panels  36 ,  38 ,  40  are essentially cantilevered forward from the support members  116  and do not contact the load floor  108  forward of the support members  116 . 
     With reference once again to FIG. 3, the rear surface  118  of the seat back panel  54  is shown. The rear surface of the panel  54  is formed with a raised ridge  120  extending longitudinally in direction between the lower end  56  to the upper end  58  of the seat back panel. The raised ridge  120  can be aligned with similar ridges in the floor of the vehicle trunk, rearward of the seat  20  to provide a sliding surface for cargo being placed in the trunk, such as sheets of plywood, suitcases or large boxes. In addition to providing a sliding contact surface for cargo, the ridge  120  is provided with pairs of spaced slots  122 . These spaced slots are tie down openings which can be used to attach a tie down member such as a bungee cord, a strap, rope, etc, for securing cargo within the vehicle. 
     The load floor  108  beneath the seat bottom  30  can be equipped with various securement devices for securing cargo or other objects to the load floor. The securement device can be similar to the space slots  122  shown on the back surface of the seat back panels  50 ,  52 ,  54 . Other securing devices could be used such as a seat belt buckle-type mechanism which receives a tongue from a cargo carrier or other device such as a child seat or a removable armrest module, etc. Such an armrest module could be attached to the center of the vehicle seat with the center seat bottom panel  38  rotated to the stored position thereby providing an armrest for the outboard seat occupants. In addition, a laterally extending track can be formed in the load floor enabling removable modules to be slid across the vehicle and positioned at desired locations along the width of the load floor  108 . Locking pins, T-nuts, bayonet fasteners, and other devices could be used to lock the modules, etc. to the load floor and track. 
     With reference to FIG. 5, an alternative embodiment of the seat of the present invention is shown and designated at  124 . Seat  124  is identical with the seat  20  except that the seat bottom  126  is formed by a single panel and seat back  128  is formed by a single panel. The panels are attached to fixed pivot supports via mounting flanges and cylindrical mounting bosses similar to that described above. The seat of the present invention can have any number of panels. Furthermore, the width of the panels can vary from the seat  20  shown in FIG.  1 . There, the panels are each one third of the width of the seat  20  forming a 33/33/33 split bench seat. The seat could be split in other ways, such as, but not limited to, a 40/20/40 or 60/40 split. The invention can also be used in a bucket seat as opposed to a bench seat. 
     The utility vehicle seat of the present invention not only provides seating for vehicle occupants but also provides convenience and flexibility for carrying cargo within the motor vehicle. The ability to fold the seat bottom upward to an upright stowed position adjacent to the seat back, together with the horizontal load floor beneath the seat bottom, provides added ease and convenience for carrying cargo in the back seat of a motor vehicle. 
     It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact construction illustrated and described above. But that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.