Patent ID: 8152231

Claim:
A vehicle seating system, comprising: a rigid base configured to affix a seat to a vehicle; a seat pan supported by the rigid base; a seat back coupled to the seat pan and configured to face a forward or rearward direction of the vehicle; and a plurality of seat back sections configured to move with respect to each other to collapse the seat back in a lateral direction generally orthogonal to the forward or rearward direction, wherein the plurality of seat back sections comprises two outer sections each coupled to a side of a frame and configured to rotate toward one another, and wherein the sides of the frame are configured to rotate toward one another in a direction common with the respectively coupled outer section to collapse the seat back in the lateral direction; wherein the seat pan comprises a plurality of seat pan sections configured to move with respect to each other to collapse the seat pan in the lateral direction, wherein the rigid base comprises a bottom support and a pair of side supports disposed on opposite sides of the bottom support and each connected to an outer section of the plurality of seat pan sections, and wherein the side supports are configured to rotate upwardly towards one another away from the bottom support to collapse the seat pan in the lateral direction.