Vehicle seat with stowable seat bottom

A vehicle seat assembly comprising:

• a seat back;
• a linkage assembly;
• a seat bottom mounted to said linkage assembly and moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position;
• said seat bottom defining a deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said deployed position and said seat bottom being positioned below said deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said stowed position;
• and
• said seat bottom being separate and spaced away from said seat back when said seat bottom is in said stowed position, wherein said seat back is not supported by or directly connected to said seat bottom or said linkage assembly and wherein said seat back remains above said deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said deployed position and when said seat bottom is in said stowed position.

A vehicle seat assembly for a vehicle having a cargo area bounded by a floor and a wall, said vehicle seat assembly comprising:

• a seat back adapted to mount to the wall of the cargo area;
• a linkage assembly adapted to mount to the floor of the cargo area, wherein said linkage assembly includes first and second primary support links, an upper link assembly that is pivotally connected to said first and second primary support links, and first and second lower links that are pivotally connected to said upper link assembly, said upper link assembly including first and second upper link members and a torque tube extending between said first and second upper link members that couples rotation of said first and second upper link members;
• a seat bottom mounted to said linkage assembly and moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position;
• said seat bottom defining a deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said deployed position and said seat bottom being positioned below said deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said stowed position;
• and
• said seat bottom being separate from said seat back and said seat bottom being spaced apart from said seat back when said seat bottom is in said stowed position.

A vehicle seat assembly for a vehicle having a cargo area bounded by a floor and a wall, said vehicle seat assembly comprising:

• a seat back adapted to mount to the wall of the cargo area;
• a linkage assembly adapted to mount to the floor of the cargo area;
• a seat bottom mounted to said linkage assembly and moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position;
• said seat bottom defining a deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said deployed position and said seat bottom being positioned below said deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said stowed position;
• said seat bottom being separate from said seat back and said seat bottom being spaced apart from said seat back when said seat bottom is in said stowed position, wherein said seat bottom includes an occupant support surface, an underside surface opposite said occupant support surface, a frame, a seat bottom cushion supported by said frame, a front seat bottom end, a rear seat bottom end, and a pair of seat bottom sides extending between said front seat bottom end and said rear seat bottom end;
• and
• at least one rear seat bottom support assembly adapted to releasably connect said rear seat bottom end to the wall.

A vehicle seat assembly for a vehicle having a cargo area bounded by a floor and a wall, said vehicle seat assembly comprising:

• a seat back adapted to mount to the wall of the cargo area;
• a linkage assembly adapted to mount to the floor of the cargo area;
• a seat bottom mounted to said linkage assembly and moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position;
• said seat bottom defining a deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said deployed position and said seat bottom being positioned below said deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said stowed position;
• said seat bottom being separate from said seat back and said seat bottom being spaced apart from said seat back when said seat bottom is in said stowed position, wherein the wall is a side quarter panel of the vehicle, wherein said seat back includes a backside surface that is adapted to face the wall of the cargo area and an occupant facing surface opposite said backside surface, and wherein said seat back is arranged such that said occupant facing surface of said seat back faces a centerline of the vehicle.

A vehicle seat assembly for a vehicle having a cargo area bounded by a floor and a wall, said vehicle seat assembly comprising:

• a seat back adapted to mount to the wall of the cargo area;
• a linkage assembly adapted to mount to the floor of the cargo area;
• a seat bottom mounted to said linkage assembly and moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position;
• said seat bottom defining a deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said deployed position and said seat bottom being positioned below said deployed seat bottom plane when said seat bottom is in said stowed position;
• said seat bottom being separate from said seat back and said seat bottom being spaced apart from said seat back when said seat bottom is in said stowed position, wherein the wall is one of a rear lift-gate, rear swing-gate, and a rear tail-gate of the vehicle, wherein said seat back includes a backside surface that is adapted to face the wall of the cargo area and an occupant facing surface opposite said backside surface, and wherein said occupant facing surface of said seat back faces a forward end of the vehicle.

A method of operating a vehicle seat assembly in a vehicle having a cargo area bounded by a floor and a wall, the vehicle seat assembly comprising a seat back mounted to the wall of the cargo area, a linkage assembly mounted to the floor of the cargo area, and a seat bottom mounted to the linkage assembly, where the linkage assembly includes first and second primary support links, an upper link assembly pivotally connected to the first and second primary support links, and first and second lower links pivotally connected to the upper link assembly, and where the seat bottom includes an occupant support surface, an underside surface opposite the occupant support surface, a front seat bottom end, and a rear seat bottom end, the method comprising the steps of:

• positioning the seat bottom in a deployed position with the occupant support surface facing up and the rear seat bottom end located adjacent to the wall of the cargo area;
• rotating the upper link assembly up towards the underside surface of the seat bottom;
• rotating the seat bottom relative to the first and second primary support links until the underside surface of the seat bottom faces up and the front seat bottom end is closer to the wall of the cargo area than the rear seat bottom end;
• and
• lowering the seat bottom into a depression in the floor of the cargo area to place the seat bottom in a stowed position where the underside surface of the seat bottom forms part of the floor of the cargo area.