Patent ID: 8840179

Claim:
A seat assembly for use with a vehicle, the seat assembly comprising: a seat back that is mountable in the vehicle such that the seat back is pivotable between a use position and a folded position, the seat back including an engaging member; and a hinge assembly associated with the seat back, the hinge assembly including a bracket that is attachable to the vehicle, a pivot member pivotally attached to the bracket, a blocking member pivotally attached to the bracket, a connecting member that connects the pivot member to the seat back, and an engaging element that is connected to one of the pivot member and the blocking member and engageable with the other of the pivot member and the blocking member such that movement of the pivot member causes movement of the blocking member, wherein when a sufficient forward force is applied to the seat back, the seat back and connecting member are configured to move with respect to the bracket to cause the pivot member to pivot in a first direction about a first axis to cause the blocking member to pivot in a second direction different than the first direction about a second axis and engage the engaging member, to thereby block pivotal movement of the seat back, and wherein the second axis is located forward of the first axis.