Patent ID: 8888161

Claim:
An energy attenuating seat assembly for use in a vehicle, comprising: a first seat guide substantially vertically oriented and adapted for attachment to a structural portion of the vehicle; a second seat guide substantially horizontally oriented and adapted for attachment to a structural portion of the vehicle, a seat mounted for both guided vertical sliding movement along the first seat guide, and guided longitudinal sliding movement along the second seat guide; a first energy attenuating member configured to prevent relative vertical movement between the seat and the first seat guide under normal seat loading conditions, and to allow the seat to stroke along the first seat guide by permanently deforming when vertical seat loading exceeds a first threshold value; and a second energy attenuating member configured to prevent relative longitudinal movement between the seat and the second seat guide under normal seat loading conditions, and to allow the seat to stroke along the second seat guide by permanently deforming when longitudinal seat loading exceeds a second threshold value.