Reclining seat assembly

#The invention relates to reclining seats, particularly those employed in a relatively forward one of a plurality of rows of seats in a passenger vehicle, such as the vehicle's front row seats.

#Known reclining seat designs for vehicles typically employ seat and backrest cushion supports that each include a suspension matt stretched between spaced frame members to respectively support the seat and backrest cushions. The relative outboard location of these spaced frame members within the seat and backrest means that these seat and backrest frame members occupy space, for example, along the lateral edges of the backrest that might otherwise be used to accommodate rear seat passengers, particularly those with longer-than-average legs. Additionally, frame cross-members bridging the spaced frame members, for example, along the rear portion of the seat cushion support and the bottom portion of the backrest support, may also contribute to a reduction in available rear seat passenger foot room.

#Further, such known reclining seat designs employ a seat-to-backrest pivot axis that lies within a plane situated behind, as well as perhaps beneath, the seated passenger. When a seated passenger adjusts the backrest inclination, the passenger's upper torso is displaced longitudinally relative to fixed points within the vehicle, such as the vehicle's steering wheel, infotainment systems, and interior storage, which may require a subsequent fore-aft adjustment of the entire seat in order to restore the passenger's desired relation to these fixed points in the vehicle. The rearward placement of known backrest pivots may also generate an aesthetically-less-desirable gap between the seat cushion and the backrest cushion as the inclination of the backrest is changed.

#FIG. 1 is perspective view of a first exemplary reclining seat assembly for a vehicle, in accordance with the invention;

#FIG. 2 is a side view of the first seat assembly of FIG. 1;

#FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the contoured seat pan and contoured backrest frame, respectively, of the first seat assembly of FIG. 1;

#Referring to FIGS. 1-5, a first exemplary reclining seat assembly 10 for a vehicle includes a bottom seat (hereinafter “seat 12”) including a seat pan 14 and seat cushion 16 supported atop a seat frame 18. The seat frame 18 includes side members 20 whose raised rear portions 22 include a first pair of transversely-aligned bores 24 with which to define a backrest pivot axis 26 that, in the case of a forward-facing vehicle seat assembly, is generally perpendicular to the nominal longitudinal axis 28 of the vehicle.

#A seat back or backrest 30 including a backrest frame 32 and backrest cushion 34 is supported on the seat frame 18 for pivoting movement about the backrest pivot axis 26 by a pair of complementary projections 36 on the backrest frame 32 that are pivotally received within the seat frame's side member bores 24. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the backrest pivot axis 26 as defined by the side members 20 is located relatively forward of the backrest cushion's central forward-facing surface 38 when the backrest 30 is disposed in a generally upright position. In this way, the backrest pivot axis 26 is advantageously positioned relatively closer to the nominal hip joint of a vehicle passenger seated in the seat assembly 10. The backrest frame 32 is preferably also contoured to fit an average front seat passenger, with the outboard edges of the backrest curving forward to thereby open up additional space behind the backrest 30 for use by a rear seat passenger, which would otherwise be occupied by conventional backrest frames.

#As best seen in FIG. 3-5, the backrest frame 32 includes downward extensions 40 (relative to the backrest pivot axis 26) which include a second pair of transversely-aligned bores 42 with which to define a rear seat pan pivot axis 44 that is generally below and parallel to the backrest pivot axis 26 when the backrest 30 is disposed in a generally upright position. The rear portion 46 of the seat pan 14 is pivotally supported by the downward extensions 40 of the backrest frame 32 upon receipt in bores 42 of a pair of outwardly-extending projections or pins 48 defined on the rear portion 46 of the seat pan 14. It will be appreciated that, when the pins 48 are integrally formed on the seat pan 14, for example, by casting, the resulting “contoured” seat pan 14 can advantageously obviate the need for a rigid cross-member that otherwise typically extends across the rear of the seat frame, beneath the rear of the seat cushion, thereby improving available foot room for back seat passengers. The forward portion 50 of the seat pan 14 is supported on the seat frame 18 for relative longitudinal movement by a coupling 52 including a pair of links 54 pivotally mounted on a forward seat frame cross-member 56 and suitably secured to the underside of the seat pan 14 as by fasteners 58.