Vehicle seating system with pivoting stop mechanism and method

A vehicle seat system comprising:

• a seat base for mounting to a vehicle;
• a seat frame for mounting to the seat base, the seat frame being pivotally movable relative to the seat base;
• a first stop mechanism that couples the seat base to the seat frame;
• and
• a second stop mechanism for limiting rearward pivoting movement of the seat frame upon loads applied to the seat frame above a predetermined level.

A method for limiting a pivoting movement of a vehicle seat assembly comprising:

• providing a vehicle seat assembly having a seat frame and a seat base;
• providing a first stop mechanism including one or more brackets having a slot defined therein and one or more catch rods attached to a side rail of a frame member of the seat base;
• providing a second stop mechanism located a rear portion of the seat assembly;
• engaging the one or more catch rods with a first end of the one or more slots defined in the one or more brackets;
• and
• limiting forward pivoting movement of the seat frame upon loads applied to the seat frame above a predetermined level.