Patent Abstract:
A seat for a vehicle constructed so that a side seat is provided on an opposite side of a center seat may include a first hinge shaft to which a center seat back of the center seat may be rotatably coupled for folding the center seat back forwards, a second hinge shaft to which a side seat back of the side seat may be rotatably coupled for folding the side seat back forwards, and a folding actuator assembly selectively engaging the side seat back with the center seat back, wherein the folding actuator assembly locks the center seat back to the side seat back when the side seat back may be folded, and releases the center seat back from the side seat back to fold only the center seat back when the center seat back may be folded.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0021281 filed on Mar. 10, 2011, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for purposes by this reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to second row seats for recreational vehicles (RVs) and, more particularly, to a seat for a vehicle, which is constructed so that a center seat is folded together with a side seat and a dive operation is simultaneously carried out when the side seat is folded, and only the center seat is folded in the case of folding the center seat. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Generally, seats for RVs include a first row seat which corresponds to a driver&#39;s seat and a front passenger seat, and a second row seat and a third row seat which are arranged behind the first row seat. 
     Among them, the second row seat is constructed so that side seats  2  are provided on the left and right sides of a center seat  1 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . In order to facilitate a passenger getting in and out of a vehicle and to load goods, a center seat back  1   a  and side seat backs  2   a  rotate forwards to be folded. 
     However, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the conventional second row seat is generally constructed so that the center seat back  1   a  and the side seat backs  2   a  are folded along one common hinge shaft  3 . The use of the one common hinge shaft  3  is advantageous in that the number of parts can be reduced. However, it has the drawback in that a dive operation of a seat cushion  4  is impossible. A “dive operation” refers the operation whereby the seat cushion is moved forwards and downwards. 
     As such, if the dive operation of the seat cushion  4  is impossible when the seat back is folded, a height H 1  from a floor panel to an upper surface of the folded seat back increases, thus making it difficult to load goods. 
     Further, if the seat is constructed to simultaneously perform the folding operation of the seat back and the dive operation of the seat cushion, the dive operation of the seat cushion  4  is performed even when only the center seat back  1   a  is folded as shown in  FIG. 3 , so that the riding comfort for an occupant sitting in the side seat  2   a  becomes poor. 
     The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing a seat for a vehicle, which is constructed so that a center seat back is folded together with a side seat back and simultaneously a seat cushion performs a dive operation when the side seat back is folded, and only the center seat back is folded in the case of folding the center seat back, thus considerably improving the riding comfort for an occupant sitting in a side seat. 
     In an aspect of the present invention, the seat for a vehicle constructed so that a side seat may be provided on an opposite side of a center seat may include a first hinge shaft to which a center seat back of the center seat may be rotatably coupled for folding the center seat back forwards, a second hinge shaft to which a side seat back of the side seat may be rotatably coupled for folding the side seat back forwards, and a folding actuator assembly selectively engaging the side seat back with the center seat back, wherein the folding actuator assembly locks the center seat back to the side seat back when the side seat back may be folded, and releases the center seat back from the side seat back to fold only the center seat back when the center seat back may be folded. 
     The first hinge shaft may be rotatably coupled to a center bracket formed to the center seat bracket, a side bracket formed to the side seat back, and a seat cushion bracket formed to the seat cushion. 
     The seat cushion bracket may be inserted between the center bracket and the side bracket. 
     The seat cushion bracket may be integrated with the seat cushion, and the seat cushion bracket may be bent at a rear portion thereof upwards and then extends with a predetermined length to be inserted between the center bracket and the side bracket formed to a lower side of the side seat back. 
     The first hinge shaft and the second hinge may not be disposed co-axial. 
     The first hinge shaft may be located behind and above the second hinge shaft with a predetermined distance. 
     The folding actuator assembly may include an actuating recess formed in an upper side of the center seat back, and an actuating pin provided on an upper side of the side seat back, a first end thereof being selectively inserted into the actuating recess, wherein the actuating recess may be formed in the upper side of the center seat back and located above the first hinge shaft, wherein a rear portion of the actuating recess may be open and a front portion thereof may be closed to selectively receive the first end of the actuating pin through the rear portion of the actuating recess, and wherein, when the center seat back may be folded forwards with respect to the side seat, the front end of the actuating pin may be removed from the actuating recess through the open rear portion thereof, and when the side seat back may be folded forwards, the front end of the actuating pin comes into contact with the closed front portion of the actuating recess so that the side seat and the center seat may be folded together. 
     A pin bracket may be secured to the upper side of the side seat back which faces the actuating recess, and the actuating pin may be coupled to the pin bracket and a length of the actuating pin protruding from the pin bracket may be adjustable, wherein an end of the pin bracket may be threaded and secured to the upper side of the side seat back. 
     A dive actuator may be mounted to a seat rail between the seat rail and a seat cushion, the dive actuator being actuated to unlock the seat cushion from the seat rail when the seat cushion moves forwards while both the side seat back and the center seat back may be folded together, wherein the dive actuator may include a dive locking unit mounted to the seat rail, and a dive bracket rotatably coupled at a first end thereof to the dive locking unit and rotatably coupled at a second end thereof to a front portion of the seat cushion, thus releasing a locked state of the dive locking unit when the seat cushion moves forwards while both the side seat back and the center seat back may be folded together. 
     The dive locking unit may include a housing having gear teeth formed in an inner circumference thereof, a cam lever fixed to the first end of the dive bracket and rotatably engaged to the housing, a pawl teeth member having gear teeth and engaged between the inner surface of the housing and the cam lever, and a rotational center protrusion formed in the inner circumference of the housing, wherein the pawl teeth member may be pivotally engaged with the rotational center protrusion, and wherein the cam lever selectively rotates the pawl teeth member while the cam lever may be rotated by the dive bracket. 
     The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a conventional second row seat for an RV. 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  are perspective views illustrating a conventional second row seat. 
         FIGS. 4 to 6  are perspective views showing a second row seat for an RV according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a view showing an exemplary dive locking unit. 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of the seat for showing the state in which a dive operation of a seat cushion is performed together when a side seat back is folded. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the seat for showing the state in which only a center seat back is folded. 
     
    
    
     It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment. 
     In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing. 
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4 to 6 , a second row seat for an RV according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is constructed so that side seats  20  are placed on left and right sides of a center seat  10 . In order to facilitate a passenger getting in and out of the vehicle and to load goods, a center seat back  11  and side seat backs  21  rotate forwards to be folded. 
     Further, the second row seat according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is constructed so that the center seat back  11  is folded together with the side seat back  21  and simultaneously a seat cushion  31  performs a dive operation when each side seat back  21  is folded, and only the center seat back  11  is folded in the case of folding the center seat back  11 . 
     To this end, first hinge shafts  41  for folding the center seat back  11  and second hinge shafts  42  for folding the side seat backs  21  are provided. Further, a folding actuator assembly  50  is provided to fold the center seat back  11  together with the side seat back  21  when each side seat back  21  is folded, and to fold only the center seat back  11  when the center seat back  11  is folded. A dive actuator  60  is provided to cause the dive operation of the seat cushion  31  to be simultaneously performed only when both the side seat back  21  and the center seat back  11  are folded together. 
     Here, the first hinge shaft  41  is located at a position which is behind and above the second hinge shaft  42 , and passes integrally through upper ends of a center bracket  43 , a side bracket  44 , and a seat cushion bracket  45  in such a way as to freely rotate. The center bracket  43  is coupled to the center seat back  11 . The side bracket  44  is coupled to the side seat back  21 . The seat cushion bracket  45  is inserted between the center bracket  43  and the side bracket  44 . 
     Meanwhile, the seat cushion bracket  45  is integrated with the seat cushion  31 , and is constructed so that a rear portion of the seat cushion bracket  45  is bent upwards and extends to be inserted between the center bracket  43  and the side bracket  44 . 
     Further, the folding actuator assembly  50  includes an actuating recess  51  and an actuating pin  52 . The actuating recess  51  is located above the first hinge shaft  41 , is formed on a side of the center seat back  11 , and is shaped to be open at a rear thereof and be closed at a front thereof. One end of the actuating pin  52  is secured to a side of the side seat back  21  facing the actuating recess  51 , while the other end is inserted into the actuating recess  51 . 
     That is, a pin bracket  53  is mounted to the side of the side seat back  21  facing the actuating recess  51 , with the actuating pin  52  being coupled to the pin bracket  53 . The actuating pin  52  is installed such that its length protruding from the pin bracket  53  is adjustable. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an end of the pin bracket  53  is threaded and engaged to the pin bracket  53  so as to adjust the length protruding thereof. 
     Further, the dive actuator  60  includes a dive locking unit  61  and a dive bracket  62 . The dive locking unit  61  is mounted to each seat rail  71 . The dive bracket  62  is rotatably coupled at one end thereof to the dive locking unit  61  and rotatably coupled at the other end to a front portion of the seat cushion  31  so as to release the locked state of the dive locking unit  61  when the seat cushion  31  moves forwards while the side seat back  21  and the center seat back  11  are being folded together. 
     Meanwhile,  FIG. 7  shows the internal construction of an exemplary dive locking unit  61 . The dive locking unit  61  includes a housing  61   b , rotational center protrusions  61   c , pawl teeth member  61   e , a cam lever  61   f , an actuating shaft  61   g , and a cam spring  61   h . The housing  61   b  is coupled to the seat rail  71 , with gear teeth  61   a  being formed on an inner circumference of the housing  61   b . The rotational center protrusions  61   c  are provided on the inner surface of the housing  61   b . Each pawl tooth  61   e  is fitted around the rotational center protrusion  61   c  in such a way as to rotate about the rotational center protrusion  61   c , with gear teeth  61   d  being formed on an outer circumference of the pawl tooth  61   e  to engage with the gear teeth  61   a  of the housing  61   b . The cam lever  61   f  is rotatably disposed in a space which is defined between the pawl teeth member  61   e  to actuate the pawl teeth member  61   e . The actuating shaft  61   g  is spline-coupled to the cam lever  61   f  while passing therethrough, and one end of the actuating shaft  61   g  passing through the housing  61   b  is integrally coupled with the dive bracket  62 . 
       FIG. 7  shows the locked state in which the gear teeth  61   a  of the housing  61   b  engage with the gear teeth  61   d  of the pawl teeth member  61   e . In the locked state, even if a passenger sits in the seat cushion  31 , the dive bracket  62  does not rotate forwards from the state of  FIG. 4  because of the engagement of the gear teeth  61   a  and  61   d , so that the seat cushion  31  cannot perform the dive operation. 
     Meanwhile, if the seat cushion  31  moves forwards from the state of  FIG. 4  and the dive bracket  62  rotates forwards from the state of  FIG. 4  in conjunction with the forward movement of the seat cushion  31 , the cam lever  61   f  rotates counterclockwise from the state of  FIG. 7  by the rotation of the actuating shaft  61   g  coupled to the dive bracket  62 . 
     Then, the pawl teeth member  61   e  rotate clockwise about the corresponding rotational center protrusions  61   c , so that the gear teeth  61   a  of the housing  61   b  disengage with the gear teeth  61   d  of the pawl teeth member  61   e , and thus the locked state of the dive locking unit  61  is released. 
     As such, if the locked state of the dive locking unit  61  is released, the seat cushion  31  moves forwards from the state of  FIG. 4  under the load of a passenger, and simultaneously performs only the dive operation which moves downwards along the rotating radius of the dive bracket  62 . 
     Further, the cam spring  61   h  provides a restoring force to the cam lever  61   f , so that the cam spring  61   h  becomes ready to perform the subsequent operation. 
     The dive locking unit  61  shown in  FIG. 7  uses the construction of a seat reclining device as one example. Since the dive locking unit  61  is not limited to the above construction, it may have various constructions as necessary. 
     Hereinafter, the operation of the seat according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described. 
     If a worker rotates the side seat back  21  forwards, the side seat back  21  rotates forwards about the second hinge shaft  42 . 
     At this time, the actuating pin  52  comes into contact with the closed front of the actuating recess  51  to provide a force which is intended to rotate the center seat back  11  forwards. Simultaneously, as the first hinge shaft  41  rotates forwards along a rotating radius which has the second hinge shaft  42  as a center, the center seat back  11  and the seat cushion bracket  45  are integrally moved forwards. 
     The center seat back  11  is rotated forwards about the first hinge shaft  41  by the force of the actuating pin  52  and is thereby folded. Simultaneously, the side seat back  21  is rotated forwards about the second hinge shaft  42  to be folded. While the center seat back  11  and the side seat back  21  are folded, they move forwards. 
     As such, if the seat cushion bracket  45  moves forwards, the upper end of the dive bracket  62  coupled to the seat cushion  31  rotates forwards about the lower end of the dive bracket  62  coupled to the dive locking unit  61 . As a result, the dive operation of the seat cushion  31  is also performed. 
     The dive bracket  62  may rotate as the locked state of the dive locking unit  61  is released. Since it has been described hereinbefore with reference to  FIG. 7 , the detailed description will be omitted. 
     Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the seat according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is constructed so that, when the side seat back  21  is folded, the center seat back  11  is folded along with the side seat back  21 , and simultaneously, the dive operation of the seat cushion  31  is performed. The seat is advantageous in that the second row seat which has completed the folding operation and the dive operation can reduce a height from the floor panel to the upper surface of the folded seat back, so that it is easy to load goods. 
     Further, if a worker rotates only the center seat back  11  forwards, only the center seat back  11  rotates forwards about the first hinge shaft  41  to thereby be folded. 
     At this time, since the actuating pin  52  is removed from the actuating recess  51  through the open rear, it does not affect the folding operation of the side seat back  21 . Further, since the first hinge shaft  41  and the second hinge shaft  42  are separated from each other, such a construction does not affect the folding operation of the side seat back  21 . 
     Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the seat according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is constructed so that, when only the center seat back  11  rotates forwards, only the center seat back  11  rotates forwards about the first hinge shaft  41  to be folded, the side seat back  21  is not folded, and the dive operation of the seat cushion  31  is not performed, thus improving the riding comfort for an occupant sitting in the side seat  20 . 
     Further, the seat according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is advantageous in that a support force between the center seat  10  and the side seat  20  is remarkably improved by the first and second hinge shafts  41  and  42  and the folding actuator assembly  50 , thus considerably increasing the overall stability of the seat. 
     As described above, the present invention provides a seat for a vehicle, in which, when a side seat back is folded, a center seat back is folded together with the side seat back and a dive operation of a seat cushion is simultaneously performed, so that it is easy to load bulky goods on the folded seat back, and when only the center seat back rotates forwards, only the center seat back is folded and the dive operation of the seat cushion is not performed, thus improving the riding comfort for an occupant sitting in a side seat, and increasing a support force between a center seat and a side seat, therefore remarkably increasing the overall stability of the seat. 
     For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner”, “outer”, “front”, and “rear” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures. 
     The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1