Rotating vehicle seat

A rotating vehicle seat that can be rotated between a sitting position, in which the rotating vehicle seat is directed towards a front of the vehicle, and a vehicle entry/exit position, in which the seat is directed towards a side of the vehicle, comprising:

• a support base arranged and constructed to move in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle;
• a rotating seat base disposed on the support base;
• a driving source that generates a driving force;
• and
• driving means for rotating the seat base by means of the driving force of the driving source with respect to the support base, and moving the support base in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, comprising:
• rotating means having an outer ring and an inner ring, one of the outer and inner rings being attached to the support base, the other thereof being attached to the seat base, and
• moving means having a rack, a pinion gear and an intermediate gear operably coupling the rack to the pinion gear, wherein the pinion gear is attached to seat base, and the rack is arranged and constructed to be coupled to a body of the vehicle.

A rotating vehicle seat that can be rotated between a sitting position, in which the rotating vehicle seat is directed towards a front of the vehicle, and a vehicle entry/exit position, in which the seat is directed towards a side of the vehicle, comprising:

• a support base capable of moving in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle;
• a rotating seat base disposed on the support base;
• driving means for simultaneously moving the seat base along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and rotating the seat base when the seat base is between an intermediate position, in which the seat base has been rotated by a predetermined angle from the sitting position, to the vehicle entry/exit position, the driving means comprising a rack, a pinion gear and an intermediate gear operably coupling the rack to the pinion gear;
• and
• restricting means for restricting the support base from being moved in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle when the seat base is between the sitting position and the intermediate position.

A rotating vehicle seat shiftable between a sitting position and an outwardly directed vehicle entry/exit position, comprising:

• a support base translatable in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle;
• a rotating seat base operably, rotatably coupled to the seat base;
• and
• a drive mechanism operably coupled to the rotating seat base for rotating the seat base relative to the support base through a selected arc and for moving the support base in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the drive mechanism effecting only rotational motion of the support base for a first portion of the arc subtended by the rotating seat base and effecting simultaneous rotational and forward motion of the support base for a second portion of the arc subtended by the rotating seat base, the drive mechanism comprising a rack, a pinion gear and an intermediate gear operably coupling the rack to the pinion gear.

A rotating vehicle seat that is shiftable between a sitting position and a vehicle entry/exit position for use in a vehicle having a vehicle seat body, comprising:

• a support base arranged and constructed to be translatable in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle;
• a rotating seat base disposed on the seat base;
• and
• a drive mechanism operably coupled to the rotating seat base for rotating the seat base with respect to the support base, for linearly translating the support base in a lateral direction of the vehicle and for linearly translating the support base in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the drive mechanism including:
• a rotary mechanism having a first ring and a second ring, the first ring disposed concentrically with the second ring and being rotatable with respect to the second ring,
• the first ring being fixedly coupled to the support base, the second ring being fixedly coupled to the seat base,
• a translational mechanism having a rack, a pinion gear and an intermediate gear operably coupling the rack to the pinion gear, the pinion gear being fixedly coupled to the seat base, and the rack being arranged and constructed to be fixedly coupled to the vehicle body, and
• a lock adapted to prevent rotational and longitudinal movement of the seat base when the seat is moving laterally.

A rotating vehicle seat that is shiftable between a sitting position and a vehicle entry/exit position of a vehicle, comprising:

• a support base capable of moving in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle;
• a rotating seat base disposed on the support base;
• a drive mechanism for simultaneously translating the seat base and for rotating the seat base, said simultaneous rotation and translation being initiated when the seat base is at an intermediate position, the intermediate position being a disposition in which the seat base has been rotated by a predetermined angle from the sitting position, the drive mechanism comprising a rack, a pinion gear and an intermediate gear operably coupling the rack to the pinion gear;
• and
• a restricting mechanism for restricting the support base from translationally moving when the seat base is disposed between the sitting position and the intermediate position.

A vehicle seat comprising:

• a vehicle seat body normally positioned facing a forward direction of a vehicle,
• a vehicle seat support base coupled to the vehicle seat body,
• a rotary ring coupled to the vehicle seat support base and adapted to permit the vehicle seat to rotate approximately 90°,
• a guide coupled to the vehicle seat support base,
• a longitudinal support disposed along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, wherein the guide and the longitudinal support are engaged and adapted to permit the vehicle seat to move in the forward direction, wherein the vehicle seat is arranged and constructed to move in the forward direction while rotating for at least a portion of the rotational range,
• a drive source,
• a rack, a pinion gear and an intermediate gear operably coupling the rack to the pinion gear, and wherein the rack, pinion gear and intermediate gear operably couple the vehicle seat support base to the longitudinal support, and
• a transmission coupling the drive source to the rotary ring.

A vehicle seat comprising:

• a seat body arranged and constructed to rotate about a pivotal axis,
• a pinion gear coupled to the seat body and adapted to rotate with the seat body,
• a rack disposed along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle,
• an intermediate gear coupling the pinion gear to the rack, wherein the rack is adapted to move the seat body in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle while the seat body is rotating about the pivotal axis for at least a portion of the rotational range,
• a drive source and
• a transmission coupling the drive source to the seat body.

A seat assembly for use in a vehicle, comprising:

• a vehicle seat;
• a base including a lower base section and an upper base section, the upper base section supporting the vehicle seat,
• a bearing assembly including a plurality of bearings adapted to rotatably support the upper base section on the lower base section,
• a pinion gear coupled to the lower base section,
• a rack arranged and constructed to be disposed along a longitudinal axis of the vehicle,
• an intermediate gear coupling the pinion gear to the rack, wherein the pinion gear and the rack are arranged and constructed to move the vehicle seat in a forward direction when the vehicle seat is rotating,
• a drive source and
• a transmission coupling the drive source to the bearing assembly.

A vehicle seat, comprising:

• a seat body arranged and constructed to rotate about a pivotal axis,
• a pinion gear fixedly coupled to the seat body and arranged and constructed to rotate with the seat body,
• a support arranged and constructed to be disposed along a longitudinal direction of a vehicle, the support supporting the seat body,
• a rack arranged and constructed to be fixedly coupled to a floor of the vehicle, and
• an intermediate gear coupling the pinion gear to the rack, wherein the seat body, the pinion gear, the support, the rack, and the intermediate gear are further arranged and constructed to enable the seat body to rotate around the pivotal axis while moving along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.