# US 11,299,068 B2 · Vehicle seat

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- Number: US 11,299,068 B2
- Document ID: US11299068B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/737,953
- Filed: 2020-01-09
- Published: 2020-07-16
- Granted: 2022-04-12
- Earliest claimed: 2019-01-15
- Assignees: NHK Spring Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: NHK Spring Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Daisuke Tanaka; Kenichi Katsube; Donghyoun Kim; Takuma Oki
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11299068B2

## CPC

- B60N 2/0232
- B60N 2/005: Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles {, e.g. dismountable auxiliary seats}(B60N2/02 takes precedence {; for railway vehicles B61D1/04})
- B60N 2/0248: {with memory of positions}
- B60N 2/2222: {the back-rest having two or more parts}
- B60N 2/853: characterised by their adjusting mechanisms, e.g. electric motors
- B60N 2/995: {Lower-leg-rests, e.g. calf-rests}
- B60N: SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A vehicle seat is provided including a base section fixed to a floor of a vehicle, a pair of seat sections that are disposed opposing each other as viewed along a seat width direction, that are each supported by the base section so as to be capable of tilting between a horizontal position and an upright position, and that each include plural cushion sections disposed in series and configured to support the body of an occupant, and a hinge mechanism that attaches the pair of seat sections to the base section such that the seat sections are capable of tilting, and that couples the plural cushion sections together such that the cushion sections are capable of swinging about an axis running along the seat width direction.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vehicle seat, comprising:
a base section fixed to a floor of a vehicle;
a pair of seat sections that are disposed in opposition to each other, that are each supported by the base section so as to be tiltable between a horizontal position and an upright position, and that each seat section includes a plurality of cushion sections disposed in series and configured to support a body of an occupant, wherein the plurality of cushion sections of each seat section includes:
a lower cushion section that has a first end tiltably supported b the base section, and that is configured to support the buttocks or the lower back of an occupant;
a middle cushion section that has a first end swingably supported by a second end of the lower cushion section, and that is configured to support, the calves or the upper back of an occupant; and
an upper cushion section that has a first end swingably supported by a second end of the middle cushion section, and that is configured to support the feet or the head of an occupant; and
a hinge mechanism, the hinge mechanism comprising a pair of first hinge sections that attach the pair of seat sections to opposite ends of the base section such that the seat sections are tiltable with respect to the base section about a first pair of axes,
wherein the plurality of cushion sections of each seat section are swingable relative to each other,
wherein each of the lower cushion sections and the middle cushion sections are swingably coupled together by a double hinge mechanism in which one rotation shall provided at the second end of the lower cushion section and another rotation shaft provided at the first end of the middle cushion section are coupled together via a link.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein:
the upper cushion section includes a plate-shaped under-frame configured to support the feet of an occupant when in a footrest position, and a plate-shaped rotatable frame configured to support the head of an occupant when in a headrest position; and
the under-frame and the rotatable frame are coupled together so as to be swingable about an axis.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the hinge mechanism includes:
a plurality of motors serving as drive sources; and
a plurality of shafts that are rotated forward or backward by drive force from the plurality of motors.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The vehicle seat of claim 1, further comprising a control device configured to operate the hinge mechanism so as to adopt a state corresponding to a mode selected from a plurality of pre-stored modes.