Patent ID: 8398142

Claim:
A vehicle seat for a motor vehicle, comprising: an upholstery part made of a hard foam part and a soft foam pad, wherein the upholstery part is designed as a seat part having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the hard foam part defines a first surface at the bottom surface of the seat part, the first surface having a first portion shaped to be congruent to a contour of an upper surface of a vehicle floor, wherein the seat part is configured to be switchable between a use position with the first portion of the first surface of the hard foam part being configured to positively engage with the contour of the upper surface of the vehicle floor when in the use position, and a not-in-use position such that the bottom surface of the seat part remains vertically below the top surface of the seat part when in the use position and when in the not-in-use position; and a hinge mechanism configured to release the first portion of the seat part from the vehicle floor and shift the seat part into the not-in-use position, wherein the hinge mechanism comprises a first hinge arm connected at a first end to the vehicle floor and a first hinge connecting a second end of the first hinge arm to the hard foam part, wherein the first hinge is pivotable about a first axis, wherein the first hinge is latched to the hard foam part via a connection directly affixed to material of the hard foam part, and wherein the hinge mechanism is connected to the seat part such that the hinge mechanism does not transfer weight of a vehicle occupant into the vehicle floor during a crash.