Stowable seat and seat storage structure
AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
InventorsMatthew Frank Parkinson, Robert Charles Steinbrecher, Hamshivraj Singh Dhamrat, William Deming
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention discloses a stowable seat and seat storage structure that affords for storing of the stowable seat in a vehicle and yet not use or occupy any floor or sub-floor cargo space. An interior side wall for the vehicle is also provided, the interior side wall having a recess that is dimensioned for the stowable seat to fit at least partially therewithin when it is detached from the floor and folded into a stowed configuration.
Claims17
A stowable seat and seat storage structure for storing the stowable seat in a vehicle and not using floor or sub-floor cargo space, the stowable seat and seat storage structure comprising:
- a stowable seat having a seating configuration with said stowable seat attached to a floor in the vehicle and a stowed configuration with said stowable seat unattached from the floor, said stowable seat also having a floor mounting structure operable to attach and detach said stowable seat from the floor in the vehicle;
- an interior side wall of the vehicle, the interior side wall having a recess with an inner wall, a lower wall, and an outer wall dimensioned for said stowable seat to fit at least partially within said recess and snugly up against said inner wall, lower wall and outer wall when in said stowed configuration, for the purpose of storing and preventing rattling of said stowable seat in said recess of said interior side wall and not occupy any floor or sub-floor cargo space of the vehicle.
A process for storing a stowable seat in a vehicle so as not to occupy any floor or sub-floor cargo space, the process comprising:
- providing a stowable seat having a seating configuration with the stowable seat attached to a floor in the vehicle and a stowed configuration with the stowable seat unattached from the floor, the stowable seat also having a floor mounting structure operable to attach and detach the stowable seat from the floor;
- providing an interior side wall with a recess having an inner wall, a lower wall, and an outer wall dimensioned for the stowable seat to fit snuggly and at least partially within the recess and thereby prevent rattling of the stowable seat when in the stowed configuration;
- detaching the stowable seat from the floor;
- folding the stowable seat into the stowed configuration;
- and
- placing the stowable seat in the stowed configuration at least partially within the recess of the interior side wall in a stored position, for the purpose of storing the stowable seat without rattling thereof and not occupy any floor or sub-floor cargo space.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.