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US 8,152,231 B2Granted
Collapsible seat and system
AssigneeJohnson Controls Technology Company
InventorsLance Larsen, David McCarthy, Sheldon Watjer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Collapsible seats may be installed on a track or rail system to allow the collapsible seats to move laterally within a vehicle's interior. The track system also may permit removal of the collapsible seats from the vehicle. The collapsible seats may include a seat back with multiple sections joined by flexible hinges that permit folding of the seat pan and seat back in a lateral direction. In certain embodiments, the seat pan or the headrest also may include multiple sections joined by flexible hinges. The flexible hinges may allow the seats to collapse laterally to reduce the width of the seats. The available space for seating or cargo storage may be adjusted by selectively collapsing, expanding, and removing the collapsible seats.
Claims16
A vehicle seating system, comprising:
- a rigid base configured to affix a seat to a vehicle;
- a seat pan supported by the rigid base;
- a seat back coupled to the seat pan and configured to face a forward or rearward direction of the vehicle;
- and
- a plurality of seat back sections configured to move with respect to each other to collapse the seat back in a lateral direction generally orthogonal to the forward or rearward direction, wherein the plurality of seat back sections comprises two outer sections each coupled to a side of a frame and configured to rotate toward one another, and wherein the sides of the frame are configured to rotate toward one another in a direction common with the respectively coupled outer section to collapse the seat back in the lateral direction;
- wherein the seat pan comprises a plurality of seat pan sections configured to move with respect to each other to collapse the seat pan in the lateral direction, wherein the rigid base comprises a bottom support and a pair of side supports disposed on opposite sides of the bottom support and each connected to an outer section of the plurality of seat pan sections, and wherein the side supports are configured to rotate upwardly towards one another away from the bottom support to collapse the seat pan in the lateral direction.
3 more elements
A vehicle seating system, comprising:
- a rigid base configured to be disposed between opposite sides of a vehicle;
- a seat pan supported by the rigid base and divided into seat pan sections by seat pan living hinges configured to flex to collapse the seat pan in a lateral direction between the opposite sides of the vehicle, wherein the seat pan sections are enclosed by the rigid base when the seat pan is collapsed in the lateral direction;
- and
- a seat back disposed crosswise with respect to the seat pan and divided into a plurality of seat back sections by seat back living hinges configured to flex to collapse the seat back in the lateral direction, wherein the plurality of seat back sections comprises two outer sections each coupled to a side of a frame and configured to rotate toward one another, and wherein the sides of the frame are configured to rotate toward one another in a direction common with the respectively coupled outer section to collapse the seat back in the lateral direction;
- wherein the rigid base comprises a static bottom support configured to remain stationary when the seat pan is collapsed in the lateral direction and a pair of side supports disposed on opposite sides of the static bottom support, wherein the side supports are each attached to a separate seat pan section of the plurality of seat pan sections by one of the seat pan living hinges and are each configured to rotate upwardly towards one another away from the static bottom support to collapse the seat pan in the lateral direction.
2 more elements
A method, comprising:
- forming living hinges in a seat pan to permit folding of the seat pan;
- forming living hinges in a seat back to permit folding of the seat back and to divide the seat back into a plurality of seat back sections;
- and
- securing the seat pan and the seat back to a frame configured to be affixed to a vehicle interior, wherein the seat back and the seat pan and configured to fold towards a longitudinal axis of the frame;
- wherein securing the seat back to the frame comprises coupling outer sections of the plurality of seat back sections to sides of the frame, and wherein the sides of the frame are configured to rotate toward one another in a direction common with the respectively coupled outer section;
- and
- wherein forming living hinges in the seat pan comprises connecting a plurality of semi-rigid seat pan sections with a flexible material, wherein securing the seat pan to the frame comprising coupling outer sections of the plurality of seat seat pan sections to side supports extending from a static bottom support, and wherein the side supports are configured to rotate upwardly towards one another away from the static bottom support.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.