Abstract:
A fold and tumble vehicle seat has a cushion, seatback, and a frame. The frame is supported at the front end by a cantilever that extends perpendicular to the direction that the seat faces. The seat frame is pivotally coupled to the cantilever, allowing the removal of the customary front legs that would otherwise support the seat. A single rear leg is releasably attached to the floor of the vehicle, and a structural latch may be used to attach the frame to a center console. The vehicle seat is pivoted out of the way by folding the seatback forward, and releasing the rear leg to allow the seat to pivot forward about the pivot tube.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a vehicle seating system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fold and tumble vehicle seat that pivots about a cantilever extending from a center console of a vehicle. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In vehicles such as automobiles, sport utility vehicles, and mini-vans, fold and tumble seating is used to aid in occupant ingress and egress from the vehicle, and provide easier access to storage space behind a row of seats. Typically the rear end of a fold and tumble seat is releasably attached to the floor of the vehicle by a pair of legs. A release mechanism allows the seatback to be folded forward. A second mechanism releases the rear legs such that the folded seat can be tumbled forward toward the front of the vehicle. The fold and tumble operation creates a larger opening into the vehicle. 
     When the seat is in the tumbled position, the rear legs jut outward toward the rear of the vehicle, presenting a hazard for the occupants of the vehicle, particularly with respect to the rear leg on the outside portion of the seat. To solve this problem, the rear legs of conventional fold and tumble seats have been designed to collapse or fold into the seat frame when the seat is in the tumbled position. The collapsing leg removes the safety hazard. 
     Conventional fold and tumble seats typically have a frame that is supported at the front and by a pair of brackets or legs that are further supported by the floor of the vehicle. The seat pivots about the points at which it is supported by the front legs. The front legs take up space that could otherwise be used as storage space below the vehicle seat. Two front legs are required because the outside front leg not only supports the seat but resists the bending moment from the load of the occupant and the seat, as well as downward forces during a vehicle crash. If the vehicle crashes while moving in a forward direction, the seatbelt retains the occupant in the seat, resulting in a submarining-type force wherein the front portion of the seat cushion is driven downward toward the floor as the seatback attempts to rotate toward the front of the vehicle. 
     The space taken up by the front support legs is greater with newer vehicle seats that have taller seatbacks and headrests. Because of the taller seatback and headrest, the points about which the seat pivots as it tumbles forward must be at a greater distance above the floor than in previous designs to prevent the headrest from crashing into the floor in the final fold and tumble configuration. Therefore, the front legs or brackets must be taller as well. 
     Conventional fold and tumble seats do not typically have a substantial support member that runs orthogonal to the side of the vehicle. This is because the seats are supported by structural members rising from the floor of the vehicle, and therefore substantial cross support members are not required to resist bending moments. A disadvantage of the conventional design is that the seat frame does not afford a great amount of side impact protection in the event of a vehicle crash. 
     Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a fold and tumble seat that does not require a rear outside leg that can present a safety hazard to vehicle occupants. Further, it would be advantageous to have a fold and tumble seat that does not have front legs extending to the floor of the vehicle. Further still, it would be advantageous to have a fold and tumble seat that has a substantial structural support running orthogonal to the side of the vehicle to provide side impact protection. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An exemplary embodiment relates to a vehicle seat having a seat frame with a front portion and a rear portion. A seatback is pivotally coupled to the rear portion, and a cantilever is pivotally coupled to and supports the front portion. 
     Another embodiment relates to a vehicle having a floor and a plurality of side doors. A cantilever extends in a direction orthogonal to the side doors and is supported by a center console. A seat is pivotally supported on the cantilever. 
     Still another embodiment relates to a vehicle seat having a seat frame coupled to a vehicle floor. A cushion is coupled to the frame and a seatback is coupled to the cushion or the seat frame. A maximum of one support leg extends between the seat frame and the floor. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     An exemplary embodiment will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements, and: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional fold and tumble seating system; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an improved fold and tumble seating system; and 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along line  3 — 3  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view from the rearward direction of the frame of the improved fold and tumble seating system; 
     FIG. 5A is a side view of an improved fold and tumble seating system in an upright position; 
     FIG. 5B is a side view of an improved fold and tumble seating system in a folded position; 
     FIG. 5C is a side view of an improved fold and tumble seating system in a folded and tumbled position; 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a seat  10  has a cushion  12 , a seatback  14 , a headrest  16 , and a frame  18 . The cushion  12  can have a cushion frame (not shown). The seatback  14  can be pivotally coupled to the cushion frame or directly to the frame  18  by a pair of brackets  15 . The frame  18  is supported by two pairs of legs  20 ,  22 . 
     Further shown in FIG. 1, in a vehicle there can be a floor  32 , a number of seats  10 , and a center console  34 . The center console  34  can include a middle seat (not shown). The seat  10  and center console  34  can be located in any row of the vehicle. The vehicle body has cut-outs  38  to accommodate side doors (not shown). 
     A conventional seat frame  18  has a pair of side rails  40  coupled to the legs  20 ,  22 . A front end  42  of each of the side rails  40  is pivotally coupled to the pair of front legs  20 . The front legs  20  are secured to the floor  32 . Rear ends  44  of the rails  40  are coupled to the pair of rear legs  22 . The rear legs  22  are releasably secured to the floor  32 . The rear legs  22  are releasably coupled to the floor  32  so that the seat  10  may be tumbled forward, pivoting about a pair of front pivot points  46 . 
     The seat  10  is designed to fold and tumble forward to aid in occupant ingress and egress. The seatback  14  is first folded forward onto the seat cushion  12 . The rear legs  22  are then released from the floor  32  to allow the folded seat  10  to be tumbled forward about the front pivot points  46 . The fold and tumble operation results in a collapsed configuration of the seat  10  wherein the headrest  16  is positioned proximal the floor  32 , and the rear legs  22  face rearward. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, an improved seat  110  is shown. The improved seat  110  has a cushion  112 , a seatback  114 , and a headrest  116  in the same configuration as the seat  10  depicted in FIG. 1. A pair of brackets  115  pivotally couple the seatback  114  to a cushion frame or the seat frame  118 . 
     The frame  118  has a front portion  150  that is pivotally coupled to a cantilever, shown as a pivot tube  154 . The pivot tube  154  extends into the frame  118  from a center console  134 . Thus, the front portion  150  of the frame  118  is supported by a portion of the pivot tube  154  that is cantilevered off the center console  134 . Alternatives to the pivot tube  154  can include any cantilever structure, such as a beam. 
     The center console  134  has an associated frame  136  designed to support the pivot tube  154 . Also attached to the center console frame  136  can be a storage system, an armrest, or a middle seat. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, the frame  118  is supported by the pivot tube  154 . A frame bearing surface  156  can be provided at multiple points, or continuously across the frame  118  to support the mass of the seat  110 . Thus, the frame  118  can pivot about a plurality of bearing surfaces  156  or about an axis stabilized by the pivot tube  154 . As an alternative embodiment to having the frame  118  bearing directly on the pivot tube  154 , the pivot tube  154  can have attached brackets that pivotally support the frame  118 . This alternative embodiment is useful when the cantilever  154  is not a cylindrical member. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, a rear portion  152  of the frame  118  can be supported by a support member, shown as a rear leg  122 . A support bracket, shown as a structural latch  160 , may be used to provide additional structural support, for example, to carry a seatbelt. The structural latch  160  aids in stabilizing the seat  110  with respect to torsional forces. The rear leg  122  can be supported by the floor  32 . A release mechanism  162  permits the detachment of the rear leg  122  to tumble the seat  110 . The structural latch  160  is attached to the center console frame  136 , and also selectively releases from the center console frame  136 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 5A,  5 B, and  5 C, the improved seat  110  folds and tumbles in a similar fashion to the conventional seat shown in FIG.  1 . FIG. 5A shows the seat  110  in a standard operative position. The seatback  114  can be folded forward onto the seat cushion  112  in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 5B. A release mechanism (not shown) can be operated to release the seatback  114  from the operative position to effect the folding motion. 
     Referring to FIG. 5C, the seat  110  is shown in the tumbled position. The seat  110  is placed into the tumbled position by first operating the rear leg  122  release mechanism  162  (FIG.  4 ). The rear leg  122  releases from the floor  32 , and the structural latch  160  (FIG. 4) releases the rear portion  152  to allow the frame  118  to pivot about the pivot tube  154  in a forward direction (shown by the arrow in FIG.  5 C). A handle  164  can be used to aid in tumbling the seat. 
     The improved seat  110  permits more storage room below the seat  110  because the conventional front legs  20  have been removed (compare FIG. 1 to FIG.  2 ). 
     The pivot tube  154  has a large diameter to withstand the bending moment on the tube due to the removal of the front legs  20 . The pivot tube  154  must maintain the integrity of the frame  118  both during normal vehicle operations as well as during a vehicle crash. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the two conventional rear legs  22  have been removed in the improved design and replaced with a single rear leg  122 , which is positioned adjacent the center console  134  rather than toward the outside of the vehicle. Therefore, when the seat  110  is in the tumbled configuration, there is no longer a rear outside leg  22  to interfere with occupants entering or exiting the vehicle. The remaining rear leg  122  is positioned proximate the center console  134  such that it does not interfere with occupants. If desired, the rear leg  122  can be designed to collapse or fold into the frame  118  when the seat  110  is in the tumbled position. 
     The improved seat  110  can be used in the front row of the vehicle, or rearward rows in vehicles with more than two rows of seats. 
     Thus, the improved seat  110  solves the disadvantages of conventional fold and tumble seats discussed in the Background of the Invention section. One of the rear legs  22  has been removed, and the remaining rear leg  122  is disposed toward the interior of the vehicle, removing the obstruction and safety hazard of a rear leg  22  jutting outward in the path of travel when the conventional seat  10  is in the tumbled configuration. Further, the improved fold and tumble seat  110  does not have front legs  20 , increasing the amount of storage space below the seat  110 . Further, the pivot tube  154  enhances the structural integrity of the seat  110 , particularly with respect to side impact vehicle crashes. 
     While several embodiments of the invention have been described, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that what has been described is considered at present to be the preferred embodiments of a fold and tumble seating system. However, changes can be made in the design without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. The following claims are intended to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.