Hinge assembly for a vehicle seat assembly

A seat assembly for use with a vehicle, the seat assembly comprising:

• a seat back that is mountable in the vehicle such that the seat is pivotable between a use position and a folded position, the seat back including an engaging member;
• and
• a hinge assembly associated with the seat back, the hinge assembly including a support member that is fixedly attachable to the vehicle, a pivot member pivotally associated with the support member, a blocking member pivotally associated with the support member, and a connecting member that extends through the support member and joins the pivot member to the seat back, wherein when a sufficient force is applied to the seat back, the pivot member pivots in a first direction, which causes the blocking member to pivot in a second direction different than the first direction and engage the engaging member, thereby inhibiting pivotal movement of the seat back.

A seat assembly for use with a vehicle, the seat assembly comprising:

• a seat back that is mountable in the vehicle such that the seat is pivotable between a use position and a folded position, the seat back including an engaging member;
• and
• a hinge assembly associated with the seat back, the hinge assembly including a support member that is attachable to the vehicle, a movable member movably attached to the support member, a blocking member pivotally attached to the support member and associated with the movable member, and a spring member associated with the movable member, wherein when a sufficient forward force is applied to the seat back, the movable member moves in a forward direction, which causes the blocking member to pivot and engage the engaging member, thereby blocking pivotal movement of the seat back, and wherein the spring member urges the movable member in a rearward direction.