Seating arrangement for a vehicle

[0001] This application claims priority in PCT International Application No. PCT/GB03/02005, filed May 9, 2003, and Application No. GB 0210666.4, filed on May 9, 2002, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates to a seating arrangement and in particular, but not exclusively, a seating arrangement for use in a vehicle such as an automotive vehicle.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] EP 0 588 693 B describes a seat arrangement for use in the rear of an automotive vehicle and adapted to provide two different seat configurations. In a first seat configuration, three seats are arranged in a row in a “side-by-side” fashion. A luggage compartment, usually accessible through the rear end of the vehicle (commonly known as the boot or trunk) is located behind the three rear seats. A first, centre one of the three seats is slidably mounted so that it can be moved in a rearward direction, along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, into the luggage compartment. Second and third seats, located one on either side of the centre seat, are movable transversely, or sideways, towards one another, so that when the centre seat is moved into the luggage compartment, a second seat configuration is provided.

[0006] It is one disadvantage of this seat arrangement that the centre seat occupies a relatively large space in the luggage compartment when the second seat arrangement is adopted. This is a particular problem if a well is provided in the vehicle for a spare tyre, as access to the spare tyre well may be obstructed. It also restricts the space available for stowing luggage within the compartment.

[0007] Sideways movement of seats is desirable to enhance the comfort of a seat occupant, to provide access to an additional storage area, or to allow deployment of an accessory such as an arm rest, a table, or a viewing screen.

[0008] It is one object of the present invention to address the problems associated with known seat arrangements, whilst achieving at least one of the benefits of providing movable seats.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a seating arrangement comprising at least a first seat and a second seat arranged side by side, each of the first and second seats having a seat member and a seat back, wherein at least part of the seat member of the second seat is displaceable in an up-down direction relative to the seat member of the first seat, and at least part of the seat back of the second seat is displaceable in a forward-rearward direction relative to the seat back of the first seat so as to allow movement of at least one of the seats in a sideways direction toward the other.

[0010] In one preferred aspect, the invention provides a seat arrangement comprising a first seat and a second seat arranged side by side,

• [0011] the second seat having a seat member, having first and second side edge seat member parts separated by an intermediate seat member part, and a seat back,
• [0012] the first seat member having a seat member and a seat back having first and second side edge seat back parts, and
• [0013] wherein said second seat member is foldable so that the side edge seat member parts thereof are movable toward each other, or approach each other, while the intermediate seat back part thereof is displaceable in an up-down direction, and the seat back of the second seat is foldable so that the side edge seat back parts thereof are movable toward each other, or approach each other, while the intermediate seat back part thereof is displaceable in a forward-rearward direction.

[0014] In another aspect the invention provides a seat arrangement comprising a first seat and a second seat arranged side by side, each of the first and second seats having a seat member and a seat back, one of the seats being movable in a sideways direction toward the other, whereby, in order to permit such movement, the seat member of the second seat is displaceable so as to be below the seat member of the first seat, and the seat back of the second seat is displaceable so as to be rearward of the seat back of the first seat.

[0015] In another aspect the invention provides a seating arrangement comprising three seats arranged side by side, in a row, each of the three seats having a seat member and a seat back, first and second, outer ones of the seats being movable toward each other, and a centre one of the seats being displaceable to a position in which the seat member thereof is below the seat members of the outer seats and the seat back thereof is behind the seat backs of the outer seats in circumstances in which the outer seats have been moved so as to be adjacent to one another.

[0041] The vehicle illustrated in FIG. 1 has a body 1 mounted on front wheels 2 and rear wheels 3 of the vehicle, said body defining a passenger space 4 and a rear luggage compartment or space 6. At the front of the passenger space 4 there is a driver's seat 7 and a front passenger seat 8, each of which is independently adjustable at least in a forward-rearward direction by conventional means. That is, the seats 7, 8 are movable in a forward-rearward direction, between the forward (front) and rearward (rear) ends of the vehicle body 1, generally along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle body 1.

[0042] At the rear of the passenger space 4 there is a seating arrangement 9 in accordance with the present invention, comprising a row of three seats 11, 12, 13 arranged side by side across the vehicle body 1. First and third ones of the seats (outer seats), identified as items 11 and 13, are similar to each other and are symmetrically arranged with respect to a second seat 12 (centre or occasional seat). The seats 11, 12, 13 have respective seat portions 11a, 12a, 13a, or seat members, and seat back portions 11b, 12b, 13b, referred to as seat backs. Typically, the seat members take the form of seat cushions, or “squabs”.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 3, the seat cushion 11a (or 13a) of each outer seat 11 (or 13) is slidably mounted, in a conventional way, by means of slides 14 so as to be movable in a forward-rearward direction (corresponding to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle) on a support base 16. The support base 16 is itself mounted on transverse slides 17 (fixed to the floor 18 of the passenger space 4) so that the outer seats 11 and 13 are movable sideways, or side to side, toward and away from each other. The longitudinal and transverse movements of the first and third seats 11, 13 are indicated by arrows in FIG. 1.

[0044] In FIG. 1, a first seat configuration is provided by the seats 11, 12, 13 for accommodating three passengers (a “three-seater mode”). The seat cushion 12a of the centre seat 12 is foldable along two mutually parallel fold lines defined by elongate recesses 19 in the underside of the seat cushion 12a. As the outer seats 11 and 13 are moved toward each other, the seat cushion 12a of the centre seat 12 is caused to fold so that side edge parts 21 thereof approach each other, in a plane generally level with the seat cushions 11a, 13a. The side edge parts 21 of the seat cushion 12a are separated by an intermediate part 22 of the cushion 12a which, as the cushion 12a starts to fold, is displaced in an up-down, or generally vertical, direction. In the embodiment as illustrated, the intermediate part 22 is displaced upwardly and the folded seat cushion 12a constitutes a lateral restraint in the form of an arm rest for a person seated on either one of the outer seats 11, 13.

[0045] Similarly, the seat back 12b of the centre seat 12 is foldable along two mutually parallel fold lines defined by elongate recesses 23 so that side edge parts 24 of the seat back 12b approach or move toward each other while, and an intermediate part 26 of the seat back 12b is displaced in a forward-rearward direction with respect to the seat backs 11b, 13b of the first and third seats 11, 13. Thus, in this embodiment, the intermediate part 26 of the seat back is displaceable along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle body 1. In the embodiment illustrated, the intermediate part 26 of the seat back 12b is displaced forwards and constitutes a lateral restraint for a person seated in either one of the outer seats 11, 13. Thus, a second seat configuration is defined to provide seats for only two passengers (a “two-seater mode”).

[0046] To prevent the folded seat back 12b from interfering with the upwardly folded seat cushion 12a, the seat back 12b is further foldable about supplementary fold lines 27 so that a lower portion 28 of the intermediate part 26 of the seat back 12b is displaceable in the opposite direction to the remainder of the intermediate part 26. In this example, therefore, the lower portion 28 is displaced rearwards while an upper portion is displaced forwards.

[0047] As can be seen in FIG. 2, when the outer seats 11, 13 have been moved towards each other, additional areas 29 of the passenger space 4 are accessible. These areas can be used for additional storage or to allow deployment of an accessory such as an arm rest, a table, or a viewing screen, for example.

[0048] If the outer seats 12, 13 are moved away from one another, the intermediate part 22 is displaced downwardly, unfolding the part 22 to return to the first seat configuration.

[0049] As can best be seen in FIGS. 4a to 4d, the seat cushion 12a and seat back 12b of the centre seat 12 are both thinner than the corresponding portions of the outer seats 11, 13, being, for example, about half the thickness. In this way it can be ensured that the centre seat 12, when folded, occupies about the same width as a conventional arm rest.

[0050] The seat cushion 12a and the seat back 12b of the centre seat (at least) may be constructed of hinged panels. For example, the seat cushion 12a may be hinged to the adjacent seat cushions, 11a and/or 13a, about an axis extending in a forward-rearward direction. The seat back 12b may be hinged to the adjacent seat backs, 11b and/or 13b, about an axis extending in a generally up-down direction (i.e. along the side edge part of the seat back 12b). The assembly of hinged panels may be covered with a layer of flexible foam plastics material covered in turn with a bonded fabric. The panels may be made of plastics material and may be connected by integral hinges. Alternatively, the panels may be made of sheet metal and may be connected by hinge pins.

[0051] The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7 differs from the above described embodiment only in the way in which the seat cushions 11a, 13a of the outer seats 11, 13 are mounted and, consequently, the way in which they move. Each seat cushion 11a (or 13a) is mounted on slides 31 (FIG. 7), which extend obliquely to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle on the floor 18 of the passenger space 4. The outer seats 11, 13 are thus slidable obliquely relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle so that they may be moved simultaneously away from or towards each other, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 5. Thus, when the outer seats 11, 13 are moved in a rearward direction, the additional areas 29 are exposed to create additional leg room for occupants of said seats.

[0052] The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 10d differs from the first embodiment only in the way in which the seat cushion 12a and seat back 12b of the centre seat 12 fold. The intermediate part 22 of the seat cushion 12a is continuously bendable (in other words it has a degree of flexibility) between the side edge parts 21, so as to form an arm rest having a convex upper surface when the seat cushion 12a is folded (as best seen in FIG. 10c). Similarly, the intermediate part 26 of the seat back 12b is flexible, or continuously bendable, between the side edge parts 24 thereof. In addition, the seat back 12b is foldable about a curved supplementary fold line 32 so that a lower portion 28 of the intermediate part 26 of the seat back 12b can be folded in the opposite direction to the remainder of the intermediate part 26 (i.e. an upper portion) and does not interfere with the upwardly folded seat cushion 12a. The seat cushion 12a and the seat back 12b may each comprise a semi-rigid resilient sheet material, which may be covered with a layer of flexible foam plastics material covered in turn with a bonded fabric.

[0053] As a modification, the outer seats 11, 13 in this embodiment may be mounted in the same way as the outer seats of the second embodiment, that is movable at an oblique angle to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

[0054] In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 15, the seat cushion 12a and seat back 12b of the centre seat 12 are displaced in a different way from those in the above described embodiments. Here, the seat cushion 12a is carried by a conventional lifter mechanism 33 which allows the whole seat 12 to be displaced both downwardly and rearwardly. The outer seats 11, 13 are movable towards each other when the seat cushion 12a of the centre seat has been displaced to below the level of the seat cushions 11a, 13a of the outer seats and the seat back 12b of the centre seat has been displaced to a position just to the rear of the seat backs 11b, 13b of the outer seats 11, 13 (as best seen in FIGS. 14c and 14d).

[0055] As can be seen in FIGS. 14c and 14d, the outer seats 11, 13 may be moved so that they are side by side, adjacent to and in contact with each other. It will be appreciated that the additional areas 29 exposed in this embodiment can be larger than the equivalent areas in the preceding embodiments (e.g. as shown in FIG. 2). Furthermore, and as shown in FIG. 15, the combined transverse dimension of the outer seats 11, 13 may be such that the group of seats 11 to 13 can be moved rearward, beyond the front of wheel arches 34 of the vehicle and into the luggage space 6, thereby creating a larger entrance and exit area for the rear passengers, more leg room, or a storage space in front of the rear seats. Rearward movement of the group of seats 11 to 13 is permitted by the slides 14 (FIG. 13) of the outer seats 11, 13 and the lifter mechanism 33 of the centre seat 12. It is also possible for the seats (and their associated sliding and lifting mechanisms) to be mounted on rails extending longitudinally on the floor of the vehicle body 1.

[0056] Various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention. For example, any of the features of any of the above described embodiments may be used in another one of the embodiments. In particular the seat cushion of the second or centre seat may be foldable while the seat back is displaceable as a whole, or vice versa.

[0057] The seat cushion of the second or centre seat may be foldable downwardly, instead of upwardly, so that the centre seat 12 is accommodated below the level of the outer seat cushions 11a, 13a when the second seat configuration is provided (two-seater mode). The seat back 12b of the second or centre seat may be folded rearwardly, instead of forwardly, so that it extends into the luggage space 6 when in the two-seater mode. In an embodiment in which the seat back 12b of the second or centre seat 12 is movable rearwardly relative to the seat backs 11b, 13b of the outer seats 11, 13, this movement may be in a generally vertical or up-down direction if the seat backs 11b, 13b are tilted back at a large enough angle (depending on the thickness of the seat backs) relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle body 1.

[0058] Although the seating arrangement of the invention has been described as a group of three seats, this is only by way of example and there may alternatively be a different number of seats, e.g. two or four seats. For example, if only first and second seats are provided, the first seat may be movable sideways toward the second seat, or the second seat may be movable sideways toward the first seat, or both of them may be movable sideways toward each other. In each case, additional room will be created in the passenger space to the side of one or the other seats.