Patent ID: 7281763

Claim:
An automotive seat of a type which allows a child seat to be mounted thereon and has a pair of seat backs, a center back portion defined between said pair of seat backs, and a seat cushion, wherein said center back portion has a lower region adjacent to said seat cushion and said child seat includes a male lock means, said automotive seat comprising: a shape retaining/locking element provided to said lower region of said center back portion, said shape-retaining/locking element comprising; a hollow support body formed from a rigid material, said hollow support body having: a forwardly facing surface portion which faces to a forward side of said automotive seat; a lower region facing to said seat cushion; and an upper region opposite to said lower region; a cut-away portion defined in a local part of said forwardly facing surface portion of said hollow support body; a female engagement means fixedly provided in said hollow support body, such that a part thereof is exposed outwardly in said cut-away portion, wherein said part of said female engagement means is so adapted that said male lock means of said child seat is engageable therewith for locking said child seat to said center back portion; and a cover means for covering said forwardly facing surface portion of said hollow support body and said cut-away portion, said cover means comprising at least two cover layers, wherein one of said at least two cover layers is formed from a relatively hard synthetic resin material with a certain elasticity so as to normally tend to retain an original shape due to a resilient recovery force thereof, while being bendable with a force overcoming said resilient recovery force, wherein said original shape is a shape generally conforming to said forwardly facing surface portion of said hollow support body, wherein said cover means is securely connected at one end thereof with said upper region of said hollow support body and is releasably connected at another end thereof with said lower region of the hollow support body, such that said one of said at least two cover layers is in contact with and along said forwardly facing surface portion of said hollow support body, while extending over said cut-away portion.