Patent ID: 6883458

Claim:
A boat seat assembly comprising: a seating platform including first and second seat bottoms and first and second seat backs with said seat backs being hinged together, said first seat bottom being hinged to said first seat back, and said second seat bottom being hinged to said second seat back; a seat mechanism for supporting said seating platform and for moving said seating platform between a flat position with said seat backs aligned with said seat bottoms and a seating position with said seat backs extending upwardly from said seat bottoms and said seat bottoms moved closer together; said seat mechanism including a track and first and second sliders movably supported by said track, said first slider supporting said first seat bottom for rectilinear movement forward and away from said second seat bottom as said platform moves between said seating position and said flat position, and said second slider supporting said second seat bottom for rectilinear movement forward and away from said first seat bottom as said platform moves between said seating position and said flat position; a positioning device secured to at least one of said first and second sliders for coupling said sliders together and preventing rectilinear movement of said sliders relative to each other when said seating platform is in said seating position in order to maintain said seating platform in said seating position, and allowing movement of said sliders relative to each other to move said seating platform toward said flat position; and a locking device secured to one of said sliders with said locking device including a locking member engaging said track to prevent movement of said coupled sliders when said seating platform is in said seating position and disengaging said track to allow said coupled sliders to both move rectilinearly relative to said track while maintaining said seating platform in said seating position with said locking device further including a handle coupled to said locking member for moving said locking member between said engaged and disengaged positions with said handle being spring biased to continuously bias said locking member toward said engagement with said track.