Dumping and articulating seat

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates generally to an apparatus in a vehicle seat for articulating and dumping. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a linkage mechanism that allows articulation and dumping of a vehicle seat.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Many vehicles, particularly minivans and sport utility vehicles, have seats which articulate so that the seatback frame rotates forwardly and downwardly toward the seat frame and vehicle floor. Articulation allows the vehicle seats to collapse down to the vehicle deck by the seatback frame rotating forwardly down to the seat frame. This articulation provides an increase in the interior space of a vehicle. For example, articulating downward the back seats in a minivan so that all of the back seats collapse, expands the cargo interior space of the minivan so that large objects can be placed inside of the vehicle. Another movement of vehicle seats is dumping. A vehicle seat dumps by rotating forwardly and upwardly relative to the vehicle deck. Dumping allows an increase in the space in front of seats located behind a dumped seat. Dumping of the vehicle seat also increases the cargo floor area within the vehicle. A forward dumped vehicle seat allows greater access space to rear seating located behind the dumped vehicle seat.

[0006] Other vehicle seats are designed to either articulate or dump. Traditional articulating vehicle seats, however, articulate the seatback frame to a position where the seatback does not completely collapse to a substantially horizontal position, or a position parallel to the vehicle deck. Consequently, the seatback is angled slightly upward because the seatback rests against the seat bottom. The angled seatback frame prevents a subsequent complete dumping of the vehicle seat to a substantially vertical position because the angled seatback prevents a full rotation of the seat to the vertical position. Additionally, these articulating seats do not have a dumping feature. In view of the disadvantages associated with currently available vehicle seats, it is desirable to provide a vehicle seat having a linkage mechanism which allows the seatback to articulate into a substantially horizontal position, and allows the vehicle seat to be dumped into a substantially vertical position.

[0007] In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a vehicle seat that dumps and articulates is disclosed. The vehicle seat includes a bottom frame and a seatback frame that is pivotally supported on the bottom frame. The seatback frame is pivotally connected to a seat frame. Therefore, the seatback frame can rotate downward toward the seat frame. An articulating link is connected between a lower pivot formed on the bottom frame and an upper pivot formed on the seat frame. The articulation link permits the seatback frame to fold down so that the seatback frame is parallel to a vehicle deck. A dumping frame has a dumping pivot that supports the bottom frame. The dumping pivot allows the bottom frame to rotate about the dumping frame. The dumping of the entire vehicle seat results in the vehicle seat being oriented in a vertical upright position.

[0008] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0009] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an exemplary vehicle which can accommodate the vehicle seat of the present invention;

[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the vehicle seat of FIG. 1 in an upright position;

[0012] FIG. 4 is a side elevational view showing the vehicle seat in a partially articulated position;

[0013] FIG. 5 is a side elevational view showing the vehicle seat of FIG. 1 in a fully articulated position;

[0014] FIG. 6 is a side elevational view showing the vehicle seat of FIG. 1 in a partially dumped position; and

[0015] FIG. 7 is a side elevational view showing the vehicle seat in a fully dumped position.

[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, the vehicle seat 10 is installed in an exemplary vehicle 12 as the middle set of seats in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the vehicle seat 10 and its associated mechanism in an upright position. While only one side of the linkage mechanism of vehicle seat 10 will be described in detail, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the left and right linkage assemblies shown in FIG. 2 are substantially similar.

[0017] FIG. 3 shows vehicle seat 10 in an upright position. FIG. 3 best shows the components for articulating the vehicle seat 10. More specifically, a seatback frame 14 is pivotally connected by an articulation pivot 16 to a bottom frame 18. The articulation pivot 16 allows the seatback frame 14 to articulate forwardly and downwardly relative to the fixed bottom frame 18. In the preferred embodiment, an articulation release handle 20 releases the seatback frame 14 for pivotal movement about the articulation pivot 16.

[0018] A seat frame 22 is connected to the seatback frame 14 by a seatback pivot 24. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the seatback pivot 24 travels in an arcuate path about the fixed articulation pivot 16. The seat frame 22 is also connected to the bottom frame 18 by an articulation link 26. The articulation link 26 is coupled to the seat frame 22 by an upper pivot 28. The articulation link 26 is also connected to the bottom frame 18 by a lower pivot 30. As will be appreciated from the following description, the seat frame 22 hangs from the seatback frame 14 at seatback pivot 24. Thus, the seat frame 22 is not directly connected to the rear portion of the bottom frame 18. The seatback pivot 24 cooperates with the rotation of the articulation link 26 so as to permit the seat frame 22 to rotate forwardly and downwardly relative to the bottom frame 18, thereby permitting the seatback frame 14 to articulate into a substantially parallel position (FIG. 5) with respect to the vehicle deck 32. As can be appreciated, the seatback frame 14, the articulation link 26 and seat frame 22 and the bottom frame 18 form a four-bar linkage mechanism. The vehicle seat 10 preferably has a cushioned exterior. More specifically, a seatback cushion 54 covers the seatback frame 14 and a seat cushion 58 covers the seat frame 22.

[0019] FIG. 4 shows the seatback frame 14 in a partially articulated position. FIG. 4 also shows that the seatback pivot 24 rotates forwardly about the articulation pivot 16 and forces the seat frame 22 forwardly and downwardly into the position of FIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows the seatback frame 14 in its fully articulated and substantially horizontal position. FIGS. 4 and 5 also show the motion of the articulation link 26 as it rotates into a fully articulated position. This feature also allows seatback frame 14 to be oriented parallel to the vehicle deck 32. Accordingly, the seatback frame 14 can be oriented parallel to the vehicle deck 32 because the seat frame 22 moves from an inclined position (FIG. 3) to a relatively parallel position (FIG. 5). The orientation of the seatback frame 14 and bottom frame 18 result in a low profile and compact vehicle seat when fully articulated, which allows for greater cargo space within the vehicle 12.

[0020] With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a front portion of the bottom frame 18 is connected to a dumping frame 34 via a dumping pivot 36. A rear portion of the bottom frame 18 is secured to the vehicle deck 32 by a dumping mechanism 38. The dumping mechanism 38 is preferably actuated by a dumping handle 40 located along a rear side of the bottom frame 18. The dumping handle 40 is connected to a latch mechanism 44 by a suitable linkage 42. The latch mechanism 44 releasably catches a pin or fixed point 46 at or below the surface of the vehicle deck 32. The latch 44 is preferably spring biased toward the latched or locking position, and can be released be rotating the dumping handle 40.

[0021] Once the vehicle seat 10 is fully articulated as shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle seat 10 can be dumped. Dumping of the vehicle seat 10 is clearly shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and is accomplished by rotating the dumping handle 40 and rotating the vehicle seat 10 and more specifically the bottom frame 18 about the dumping pivot 36. FIG. 7 shows vehicle seat 10 in a fully dumped and fully articulated position. As demonstrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the dumping frame 34 is shaped so that the vehicle seat 10 can be dumped into a vertical upright position where the headrest 48 and the seat cushion end 50 are able to compactly fit in the space under the dumping frame 34 and the space defined by the vehicle floor pan 52.

[0022] The foregoing discussion discloses and describes exemplary embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims, that various changes, modifications, and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.