Patent ID: 7621599

Claim:
A vehicle seat, comprising: a generally hollow base secured to a floor of a vehicle, the base having a pair of opposing, spaced-apart base side walls; a generally horizontal seat cushion attached atop the base, the seat cushion being fixedly coupled to the base and having a fixed orientation with respect to the floor; an open base portion bounded by the floor, the seat cushion and the base side walls; a generally vertical seatback attached at a lower end to at least one of the floor, the base and the seat cushion; and a step comprising a pair of opposing, spaced-apart step side walls, a generally vertical front wall extending between the step side walls and a generally horizontal top portion fixedly coupled to both the front wall and the step side walls, the step being slidably coupled to the base and selectively positionable between a stowed position substantially within the base and a deployed position extending at least partially outwardly through the open base portion, wherein the front wall of the step closes off the open base portion when the step is in the stowed position, and wherein the step in the deployed position is generally proximate a front surface of the seat cushion such that the front surface of the seat cushion forms a substantially closed step riser.