Vehicle seat assembly with integral belt restraint and seat back dump feature

A seat assembly for a motor vehicle comprising:

• a frame comprising a lower seat frame and a seat back frame with upper and lower ends and extending generally upwardly from said lower seat frame, said seat back frame being mounted to said lower seat frame by a seat back pivot for rotation about a transverse axis adjacent said seat back lower end, said seat back frame having an operative position within an angular range of use positions about said transverse axis and said seat back frame being forwardly rotatable from said range of use positions to a forward dump position;
• holding means for holding said seat back frame in said operative position, said holding means including an elongated member extending between said seat back frame and said lower seat frame and being coupled to said lower seat frame by a first coupling means and being coupled to said seat back frame by a second coupling means, both said first and second coupling means being spaced from said seat back pivot to transmit loads between said seat back frame and said lower frame to resist rotation of said seat back frame about said seat back pivot whereby said seat back frame is held in said operative position;
• said first coupling means including means forming a latch hook mounted to said lower seat frame and defining a path of travel into and out of said hook and a pin extending from said elongated member, said pin being movable into and out of said hook along said path, said pin transferring loads from said elongated member to said hook necessary to hold said seat back frame in place when said pin is in said hook and, when said latch pin is out of said hook, said seat back frame being free to rotate to said dump position;
• and
• release means for selectively moving said pin from said hook whereby said seat back frame is free to rotate from said range of use positions to said forward dump position.