Patent ID: 8210613

Claim:
A swiveling seat for a materials handling vehicle comprising: a seat bottom; a swivel mechanism coupled to the seat bottom that allows the seat bottom to rotate at least partially around a first axis of rotation relative to an operator's compartment of the materials handling vehicle; and a swivel resistance system having: a first member coupled to the swivel mechanism so as to rotate with the swivel mechanism, the first member defining a first contact surface movable around the first axis of rotation; a second member that is fixedly positioned relative to the swiveling of the swivel mechanism, the second member defining a second contact surface movable to engage on the first contact surface; an operator adjustable resistance control to bias the second member to contact the first member in a manner that adjusts and sets the resistance between the first member and the second member so as to vary the force required to swivel the operator's seat, and wherein the resistance control includes an operator engageable component comprising a rotatable knob for setting and maintaining the resistance to a plurality of different resistance settings while continuously maintaining engagement of the second contact surface on the first contact surface, wherein the knob is adapted to be rotated to and remain at different rotational positions corresponding to different resistance settings; and the second member being supported on a pivot defining a second axis of rotation, the second member being movable about the second axis of rotation to engage the second contact surface on the first contact surface with an adjustable force.