Patent ID: 8485583

Claim:
A stowable seat arrangement for a vehicle having a floor, comprising: a seat having a seat back pivotably coupled to a seat bottom; a pair of front legs and a pair of rear legs; a floor panel fixed to the seat back; a stowage recess cover assembly including a first panel assembly pivotably coupled to a second panel assembly, the first panel assembly pivotably coupled at a forward end to the vehicle, the second panel assembly pivotably coupled to the pair of front legs; and a pair of frame members coupled to the seat bottom, the pair of front legs pivotably coupled to a forward end of the frame members and the pair of rear legs pivotably coupled to a rearward end of the frame members; the seat configured to selectively articulate from a deployed position to a stowed position where the seat is adapted to be received in a stowage recess of the vehicle, wherein pivotably raising the cover assembly about the forward end is configured to automatically begin articulation of the seat from the deployed position to the stowed position, the floor panel being positioned in spaced relation to the vehicle floor when the seat is in the deployed position and configured to automatically move with the seat to a position in engagement with the vehicle floor to provide a flat vehicle load floor configuration when the seat is in the stowed position.